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
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pdf 01. Is rainfall seasonality important for reproductive strategies in viviparous Neotropical pit vipers? A case study with Bothropsleucurus from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
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pp. 69-77
Authors: Barros, Verônica Alberto; Rojas, Claudio Augusto & Almeida-Santos, Selma Maria
Abstract: Two populations of the Neotropical lancehead Bothrops leucurus were studied in two locations in Brazil (Espírito Santo, ES, and Bahia, BA) with different rainfall seasonality patterns. The timing of reproduction was very similar in both populations, with the mating season occurring in autumn (when spermatozoa were found in uteri) and births occurring in summer. In males, spermatogenesis peaked in autumn, with evidence for increased secretory activity in the epithelium of the ductus deferens during the mating season in both populations. Our results indicate that phylogenetic inertia plays a major role in determining the timing of reproductive events in B. leucurus. However, snout-vent length (SVL) and clutch size were larger in individuals from BA than ES, which may be a result of differences in rainfall seasonality or other proximate factors (e.g., differential prey availability).
Keywords: SPERMATOGENESIS, REPRODUCTIVE CYCLES, ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, PHYLOGENETIC INERTIA, LONG-TERM SPERM STORAGE, CLUTCH SIZE
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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.
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