What are the five special senses and what distinguishes them from somatic senses such as mechanoreception (pressure, vibration and proprioception), pain (nociception) and heat (thermoception) ?

Special senses include:

Smell Vision Hearing/balance Taste

Explanation:

Somatic senses are specialized never cells that act as receptors of a certain stimulus, such as pain and pressure. the detected stimulus is converted to a nerve impulse that travels along the afferent nerves to the central nervous system for processing and generating a response.

Special senses on the other hand have sense organs such as tongue and nose that gather the sensation turns it to a nerve impulse that travels along the afferent nerves to the CNS for processing and generating a response.