Xuezhong Zhang¹ , Jin He²

1 Tropical Biological Resources Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
2 Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Biological Evidence, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 3   
Received: 17 Apr., 2025    Accepted: 24 May, 2025    Published: 14 Jul., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This article briefly reviews the evolution of snake sensory systems, focusing on three main sensory methods: infrared perception (the ability to "see" heat), chemical perception (smell through the tongue and vomeronasal organ), and mechanical perception (like touch and vibration sensing). Snakes are particularly unique in infrared perception. For example, vipers, pythons, and anacondas have a "cheek pit" structure on their faces that can sense subtle changes in heat, allowing them to find prey in the dark. Snakes also constantly stick out their tongues to collect odors and analyze these chemical information through the vomeronasal organ to track prey, find mates, and distinguish between their own kind. Aquatic snakes, such as sea snakes, have also developed more sensitive skin sensors that can sense changes in water pressure and better adapt to underwater environments. The article also talks about how these sensory abilities work with the snake's brain, and also talks about related genetic changes and environmental pressures, such as nocturnal habits, underground life, and how different species divide labor. By comparing with lizards, crocodiles, and birds, the special features of the snake sensory system are further explained. Finally, the author points out that with the development of genetic technology, brain imaging and bionic engineering, the study of snake senses can not only help us understand how animals perceive the world, but may also bring new inspiration to artificial intelligence and robotics.

Infrared detection; Vomeronasal chemoreception; Ecological adaptation; Neural integration; Bionics application