Two groups of snakes possess an infrared detection system that is used to create a heat image of their environment. In this Letter we present an explicit reconstruction model, the “virtual lens,” which explains how a snake can overcome the optical limitations of a wide aperture pinhole camera, and how ensuing properties of the receptive fields on the infrared-sensitive membrane may explain the behavioral performance of this sensory system. Our model explores the optical quality of the infrared system by detailing how a functional representation of the thermal properties of the environment can be created. The model is easy to implement neuronally and agrees well with available neuronal, physiological, and behavioral data on the snake infrared system.

• Received 30 March 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.068105