This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Loreal pit" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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. It is the external opening to an extremely sensitive infrared detecting organ. The loreal pit is bordered by lacunal scales. The loreal pit also functions as part of a thermal regulating system, enabling pit vipers to maintain their body temperature.[1]
![]() | This snake article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |