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Infrared sensing snakes use pit organs extensively to detect and target warm-blooded prey such as rodents and birds. Blind or blindfolded rattlesnakes can strike prey accurately in the complete absence of visible light, [13] [14] though it does not appear that they assess prey animals based on their body temperature. [15]
The heat sensing ability of a pit viper is so great that it can react to a difference as small as one third of a degree Fahrenheit. Other infrared-sensitive snakes have multiple, smaller labial pits lining the upper lip, just below the nostrils. [51]
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The snakes' face has a pair of holes, or pits, lined with temperature sensors. The sensors indirectly detect infrared radiation by its heating effect on the skin inside the pit. They can work out which part of the pit is hottest, and therefore the direction of the heat source, which could be a warm-blooded prey animal.
Activation of TRPV1-S channels in the TG may then suggest a similar mechanism (as seen in IR-sensing snakes) for how infrared sensing may work in vampire bats. Trigeminal nerves which innervate specialized temperature sensitive receptors on the nose-leaf may in turn activate TRPV1-S channels in the TG in response to infrared thermal radiation. [5]
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What is the deeper spiritual meaning behind the snake symbol? "The snake's spiritual meaning has long been associated with healing and change," says Wilson. "Snakes represent the cycle of death ...
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. Currently, 23 genera and 155 species are recognized: [4] These are also the only viperids found in the Americas. The groups of snakes represented here include rattlesnakes, lanceheads, and Asian pit vipers.