The Herpetological Journal
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.
pdf 03. Thermal and reproductive ecology of the snake Psammophis phillipsi from the rainforest region of southern Nigeria
983 downloads
Open Access
pp.63-67
Authors: Godfrey C. Akani, Edem A. Eniang , Itohowo J. Ekp, Francesco M. Angelici And Luca Luiselli
Abstract: Aspects of the thermal and reproductive ecology were studied in the colubrid snake Psammophis phillipsi from south-eastern Nigeria. The annual reproductive cycle was well synchronized and seasonal: females were gravid in the middle part of the dry season, and oviposition occurred in the second half of the dry season (February-March), whereas egg hatching occurred by the onset of the rainy season (mid April to early June). The mean number of eggs was 9.2±0.9 (n = 23), and was related to maternal size. Gravid and non-gravid specimens did not differ significantly in terms of mean SVL, mean Tb , or T5 Mean Tb tended to increase regularly from 0600 to 1200 hrs, attained the higher values in the middle of the day ( 1200- 1500 hrs), and tended to decrease after 1800 hrs. Gravid individuals differed from non-gravid individuals in that their variances of T were notably lower both in the early morning and in the middle of the day, but higher at other times of day. Multiple regressions showed that the interaction of T and T had a significant effect on Tb , whereas Tb was not influenced by the number of eggs produced tn gravid animals.
Keywords: body temperatures, Colubridae, Psammophiinae, reproductive biology, tropical Africa
Download Access:
The latest 8 issues can be downloaded when logged in with a Herpetological Journal subscription membership.
Individual articles can be purchased for download.
Older issues and occasional Open Access articles are available for public download
Submissions:
For further information and submission guidelines please see our Journal Instructions to Authors
Latest Issue
IMPORTANT NOTE - JUNE 2020
Please note that as from Volume 31 Number 1 (January 2021) on, the Herpetological Journal will be available as an online publication only - the last print edition will be Volume 30 Number 4.
Aligning with this change, it is now no longer possible to purchase a subscription that includes a print copy of the HJ. All members who have existing HJ print subscriptions that remain active as at end June 2020 will receive the full four 2020 print editions. New subscribers or renewals after this time will only have option to subscribe to the online only subscription package. Subscription pricing has been amended to reflect the content changes.