There are other
senses besides the five senses - sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Let
me talk about thermoreception first.
Thermoreception
is a process in which different amounts of heat energy are detected by living
organisms. Many behavioral responses happen through the stimulation of thermoreceptors.
The main purpose is for maintaining the body temperature of the animals themselves.
For mammals, thermoreceptors
are found in their skin, in the deep tissues of their body and in the hypothalamus
and spinal cord. Thermoreceptors, which are sensitive to the surrounding environment
changes (both externally and internally) help the mammals to regulate and maintain
a constant body temperature, because if they are stimulated by heat or coolness,
their bodies will take responds such as sweating and shivering.
Insects are very
sensitive to stimulation of thermoreceptors. As an example, caterpillars like
colder temperature while cockroaches fetch for moister and warmer places.
Most of the reptiles
and amphibians have sensitive thermoreceptors in front of their eyes and have
a pair of facial pits on the head below. The pits organs of the reptiles tell
them the directions and distances in order to let them killing the warm prey.
Reptiles are cold-blooded animals, they don't have constant body temperature,
therefore they are ready to move at any moment to warmer or cooler places.
