Abstract
We systematically analysed the characteristics of the Cyclopterus lumpus eye and retina during cultured post‐hatch developmental stages using gross observations, histology, immunohistochemistry, microscopy, fundus imaging and spectral domain optical coherence tomography retinal imaging. Post‐hatch developing cultured C. lumpus eye and retinal tissues share a number of features typically conserved in other teleost fish. However, cultured C. lumpus possess some novel ocular and retinal features different from previous descriptions of other teleosts, including a prominent retractor lentis pigmented tissue closely associated with the vascular rete mirabile, peripherally located lobes of separate retinal tissue containing proliferative cells, extensive tapetum material of varying thickness, prominent fundus stripes and an elongated rod‐shaped optic nerve stalk. Post‐hatch developing cultured C. lumpus also developmentally regulate a protein homologous to alpha smooth‐muscle actin in strikingly dense continuous bands in the plexiform layers of the retina. The novel features of the eye and retina of cultured C. lumpus described here could contribute to our understanding of fitness and survival of C. lumpus in a widely ranging habitat.