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Arrows pointing to the pit organs are red; a black arrow points to the nostril. The ability to sense infrared thermal radiation evolved independently in three different groups of snakes, consisting of the families of Boidae (boas), Pythonidae (pythons), and the subfamily Crotalinae (pit vipers). What is commonly called a pit organ allows these ...
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers, [2] [3] or pit adders, are a subfamily of vipers found in Asia and the Americas. Like all other vipers, they are venomous . They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on both sides of the head.
Like all pit vipers, rattlesnakes have two organs that can sense radiation; their eyes and a set of heat-sensing "pits" on their faces that enable them to locate prey and move towards it, based on the prey's thermal radiation signature. These pits have a relatively short effective range of about 1 ft (0.30 m) but give the rattlesnake a distinct ...
Pit vipers can detect their prey in complete darkness using specialized sensory organs that perceive infrared radiation. This ability inspired the development of thermal imaging cameras.
Pit vipers, which include rattlesnakes and related species, possess all the sensory organs found in other snakes, as well as additional adaptations. These include specialized infrared-sensitive receptors , known as pits, located on either side of the head between the nostrils and eyes.
The loreal pit is visible between the eye and the nostril. Diagram of the loreal pit. The loreal pit is the deep depression, or fossa, in the loreal area on either side of the head in pit vipers (crotaline snakes). The area is located behind the nostril and in front of the eye, but below the line that runs between the centers of each.
Bothriechis schlegelii, known commonly as the highland eyelash-pitviper or Schlegel's eyelash-pitviper, [2] is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae, native to Colombia. Somewhat small, arboreal snakes, B. schlegelii is perhaps best known for the namesake superciliary (" eyelash ") scales above its eyes , and for having distinctly ...
The generic name, Bothrops, comes from the Greek words bothros and ops, which mean 'pit' and 'face' (or 'eye'), respectively. This is a reference to these snakes' highly sensitive heat-detecting pit organs. The specific epithet, asper, which is a Latin word meaning 'rough' or 'harsh', may allude to the species' keeled dorsal scales. [8]