The Herpetological Journal

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 T_b , or T₅ Mean T_b 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 T_b , whereas T_b was not influenced by the number of eggs produced tn gravid animals.

Keywords: body temperatures, Colubridae, Psammophiinae, reproductive biology, tropical Africa