Sensory organs[edit]
Heat sensing pits[edit]
Pit vipers have specialized sensory organs near the nostrils called heat
sensing pits.[9] The location of this organ is unique to pit vipers. These pits
have the ability to detect thermal radiation emitted by warm-blooded animals,
helping them better understand their environment.[10] Internally the organ
forms a small pit lined with membranes, external and internal, attached to the
trigeminal nerve.[9][11] Infrared light signals the internal membranes, which in
turn signal the trigeminal nerve and send the infrared signals to the brain
where they are overlaid onto the visual image created by the eyes.[12]
Taxonomy[edit]
Whether family Viperidae is attributed to Oppel (1811), as opposed to
Laurenti (1768) or Gray (1825), is subject to some interpretation. However,
the consensus among leading experts is that Laurenti used viperae as
the plural of vipera (Latin for "viper", "adder", or "snake") and did not intend
for it to indicate a family group taxon. Rather, it is attributed to Oppel, based
on his Viperini as a distinct family group name, despite the fact that Gray was
the first to use the form Viperinae.[1]