The Herpetological Journal

pp.207-210

Authors: H. Strijbosch

Abstract: The habitat selection of Lacerra vivipara was studied in an area of inland dunes by comparing the relative occurrence of individuals with the relative presence of a number of potential habitats. Habitats with a strong spatial heterogeneity were clearly preferred, no matter whether they were humid or dry. The microhabitat of this lizard was always there where good possibilities for thermoregulatory behaviour were present within a very limited area. No differences in habitat selection were found for the age classes and sexes.

pp.210-214

Authors: Daniel S. York And Gordon M. Burghardt

Abstract: A female Malayan pit viper ( Calloselasma rhodostoma) laid a clutch of 27 eggs and remained coiled atop them until hatching. Possible functions of brooding were evaluated; these include regulation of temperature, regulation of moisture, and protection. The brooding female was not found to regulate the clutch's temperature but was found to vary t he degree of egg exposure in accordance with fluctuations in the level of relative humidity. Body-jerking movements could be elicited in the female while she was brooding but not while she was off the nest. Body-jerking was elicited by prodding with an inanimate object as well as from a conspecific, and it is felt that this behaviour could function to ward off a potential predator.

pp.214-218

Authors: J. Alan Holman .

Abstract: The late Devensian/early Flandrian Cow Cave Site, Chudleigh, Devon, yielded a herpetofauna consisting of Bufo bufo, Bufo calamita. Rana temporaria, Anguis fragilis, and Vipera berus. This is a depauperate 'Rana-Bufo' fossil assemblage with Rana comprising 20 per cent and Buja 77 per cent of the fauna. The endangered species Bufo calamira is reported for the first time as a fossil from Devon and for the second time only as a British fossil.

pp.218-222

Authors: J. Castanet And M. Baez

Abstract: Femurs of 73 Gallotia galloti caught in different localities and belonging to two subspecies living in Tenerife (Canary Islands) were analysed by skeletochronology. The bones possessed annual rings like in many other lizards. For a high percentage of individuals, a remnant of the embryonic bone and a birth line of arrested growth remained present throughout life because cortical resorption never completely removed the first annual rings. Thus the age of an individual can be directly calculated from the number of lines of arrested growth. In the sample studied here, the oldest lizards were at least 8 or 9 years old. They reached sexual maturity during their second or third year of life.

pp.223-226

Authors: R . A . Griffiths, J . M. Getliff And V. J. Mylotte

Abstract: The dieI pattern of activity and vertical migration of common toad tadpoles, Bufo bufo, was studied at Llysdinam pond in mid-Wales in 1985 and 1986. Toad tadpoles were predominantly day-active with peaks mainly occurring between 1 400 h and 2000 h. The diel activity pattern corresponded with daily cycles of illumination and temperature, but no consistent relationship with the activity of predatory dytiscid beetles was observed. Differences between 1 985 and 1 986 in the pattern of vertical migration within the water column could be related to the distribution of submerged plants in the pond. In both years, however, tadpoles occurred mainly in the middle of the water column during the day.

pp.227-229

Authors: J. S. Baxter And R. Meek

Abstract: Cryosurgery has been used for the treatment of skin disorders in two lizards and a chelonian. The results of this and a previous application (Green et al. , 1977) indicate that cryotherapy may be a valuable surgical tool for use in reptilian veterinary science.

pp.230-234

Authors: D. C. Deeming

Abstract: The aim of this study was to describe and compare shell structure of parchment-shelled and rigid-shelled eggs of gekkonid lizards. Scanning electron microscopy was used to describe eggshells of two,species of gecko of the Eublepharinae and four species of Gekkoninae. Eggshell from a lacertid lizard was also described . The crystalline nature of calcium carbonate deposits on eggshells was studied; an aragonitic chelonian eggshell was used as a control. Eublepharine eggshells consist mainly of a fibrous membrane with an external layer of calcite. They resembled lacertid and other lizard shells described previously. Gekkonine eggshells have thin, fibrous shell membranes overlain by a relatively thick layer of calcite and resemble other hard-shelled gecko eggs reported elsewhere. A layer of fibres in a matrix coats the external surface of the calcite layer of gekkonine shells. Shell structure is considered important in determining water loss from gecko eggs, nest local ion and embryonic development. A more detailed examination of the reproductive biology of gekkonid eggs could help in assessing the role of the shell in reptilian development.

pp.235-237

Authors: T. S. N. Murthy

Abstract: A key to the identification of twenty species of amphibians and reptiles recently recorded from the waters, the islands and the hills of the Chilka Lake, India is presented.

pp.237-245

Authors: E. Wade

Abstract: The current status of the forms of Mocroprotodon is summarised. Among the characters that were investigated the head patterns showed differences that were surprisingly consistent. The two recognised taxa, Mocroprotodon cucullotus cucullotus and Mocroprotodon cucullotus brevis, are reappraised and the existence of a third, Mocroprotodon cucullotus mouritonicus is confirmed. An attempt has been made to determine the affinities of the isolated populations and a brief resume of the habits together with some personal observations is presented.

pp.245-246

Authors: Mark Wilkinson And Ronald A. Nussbaum

pp.246-247

Authors: R. Meek And R. A. Avery

pp.247-249

Authors: James R. Wood And Fern E. Wood

Abstract: