AbstractCytoplasmic proteins associated with adherens junctions were identified in the chicken ocular lens. The catenins, α, β, and γ, were present in epithelial and fiber cells, although their pattern of distribution changed with fiber cell differentiation. The sharp decline in α‐catenin with fiber cell formation and the increasing Triton‐insolubility of N‐cadherin suggests that another subtype of α‐catenin exists in the lens. J. Cell. Biochem. 86: 700–703, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.