Editing Thermoception (section)

==Thermal vision==
[[File:Pit organs of a python.jpg|thumb|Positions of the pit organs (arrowed in red) on a python, relative to its nostril (black arrow)]]
Thermal vision is the ability to detect heat through radiative means. [[Visual perception|Vision]] specifically denotes the ability to not only detect heat but also form an image with that information. However, given the lack of knowledge or uncertainty of how an organism may interpret their thermoreceptor signals, any organism with organs specifically evolved for radiative thermoception are generally classed as thermal vision.

=== In snakes ===
{{main|Infrared sensing in snakes}}
[[Crotalinae]] (pit viper) and [[Boidae]] (boa) snakes can effectively see the infrared radiation emitted by hot objects.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Newman EA, Hartline PH | title = The infrared "vision" of snakes | journal = Scientific American | date = March 1982 | volume = 246 | issue = 3 | pages = 116–127 | doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican0382-116 | jstor = 24966551 | bibcode = 1982SciAm.246c.116N }}</ref> 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. By combining information from both pits, the snake can also estimate the distance of the object.

=== In vampire bats ===
{{main|Infrared sensing in vampire bats}}
The [[Common vampire bat]] has specialized infrared sensors in its nose-leaf.<ref name="Kürten_1984">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kürten L, Schmidt U, Schäfer K | title = Warm and cold receptors in the nose of the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus | journal = Die Naturwissenschaften | volume = 71 | issue = 6 | pages = 327–328 | date = June 1984 | pmid = 6472483 | doi = 10.1007/BF00396621 | bibcode = 1984NW.....71..327K }}</ref><ref name="Gracheva_2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gracheva EO, Cordero-Morales JF, González-Carcacía JA, Ingolia NT, Manno C, Aranguren CI, Weissman JS, Julius D | title = Ganglion-specific splicing of TRPV1 underlies infrared sensation in vampire bats | journal = Nature | volume = 476 | issue = 7358 | pages = 88–91 | date = August 2011 | pmid = 21814281 | pmc = 3535012 | doi = 10.1038/nature10245 }}</ref> Vampire bats are the only mammals that feed exclusively on blood. The infrared sense enables Desmodus to localize homeothermic (warm-blooded) animals ([[cattle]], [[horses]], wild mammals) within a range of about 10 to 15&nbsp;cm. This [[Infrared sensing in vampire bats|infrared perception]] is possibly used in detecting regions of maximal blood flow on targeted prey.

===In other mammals===
Dogs, like vampire bats, can detect weak thermal radiation with their [[rhinaria]] (noses).<ref name="Bálint_2020">{{cite journal | vauthors = Bálint A, Andics A, Gácsi M, Gábor A, Czeibert K, Luce CM, Miklósi Á, Kröger RH | title = Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | pages = 3736 | date = February 2020 | pmid = 32111902 | pmc = 7048925 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-020-60439-y | bibcode = 2020NatSR..10.3736B }}</ref>

On February 14, 2013 researchers developed a [[neural implant]] that gives [[rat]]s the ability to sense [[infrared]] light which for the first time provides [[living creatures]] with new abilities, instead of simply replacing or augmenting existing abilities.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/14/implant-gives-rats-sixth-sense-for-infrared-light|title=Implant gives rats sixth sense for infrared light|magazine=Wired UK|date=14 February 2013|access-date=14 February 2013|archive-date=17 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217055046/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/14/implant-gives-rats-sixth-sense-for-infrared-light|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== In invertebrates ===
Other animals with specialized heat detectors are forest fire seeking beetles (''[[Melanophila acuminata]]''), which lay their eggs in [[conifers]] freshly killed by forest fires. Darkly pigmented butterflies ''[[Pachliopta aristolochiae]]'' and ''[[Troides rhadamantus]]'' use specialized heat detectors to avoid damage while basking. The blood sucking [[Hemiptera|bugs]] ''[[Triatoma infestans]]'' may also have a specialised thermoception organ.