The Herpetological Journal is the Society's prestigious quarterly scientific journal. Articles are listed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences,Current Contents, Science Citation Index, and Zoological Record.
ISSN 0268-0130
2021 Impact Factor from Clarivate for the Herpetological Journal is 1.194, an increase of 0.332 from 2020.
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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.