Almost all pythons and some boas have heat pits on their faces. This extraordinary adaptation lets these snakes 'see' the heat signature of their unsuspecting prey. A new study has determined the evolutionary history of these amazing attributes, and worked out whether they are more prevalent in snakes with certain lifestyles.Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlightsMerch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shopFull reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.comMain Paper References:Biswas A, Ghosh A, Agashe M. 2025. In ‘hot’ pursuit: exploring the evolutionary ecology of labial pits in boas and pythons. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Species of the Bi-Week:Albuquerque NR, Martins RH, Carvalho PS, Shepard DB, Santana DJ. 2025. A new species of parrot snake, Leptophis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Brazilian Cerrado. PeerJ 13:e18528. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.18528.Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:Bontrager DR, Christie JT, Pierce AJ, Artchawakom T, Waengsothorn S, Jones MD. 2025. Ritualistic Male–Male Combat of the Northern King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) in Thailand. Ecology and Evolution 15:e71191. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.71191.Editing and Music:Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed NelsonSpecies Bi-week theme – Michael TimothyOther Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com