Date of Award

Summer 2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Program/Concentration

Biology

Committee Director

Alan H. Savitsky

Committee Member

William A. Velhagen, Jr.

Committee Member

Kerry S. Kilburn

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.B46 R57 2004

Abstract

The brown house snake, Lamprophis fuliginosus, is a small, oviparous snake found throughout much of Africa. This lamprophiine colubrid reproduces rapidly; captive females can lay clutches every three to four months for a sustained period. Thus, L. fuliginosus is an excellent model for developmental studies requiring large numbers of embryos. In addition, the embryos of oviparous species are more suitable for some procedures than are those of viviparous forms. The most widely used system for staging embryonic snakes was developed for the common gartersnake, Thamnophis sirtalis, a viviparous natricine colubrid (Zehr, 1962). Based on the examination of 135 embryos, I modified that system to reflect more accurately the postovipositional developmental sequence of L. fuliginosus. The revised staging sequence introduces 43 new characters and includes 36 common to Zehr's system for Thamnophis; 11 of the 36 characters show dissociation. Embryonic growth in body mass of Lamprophis fuliginosus is best described by a nonlinear power model, but both linear and exponential growth models adequately describe growth of embryos.

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DOI

10.25777/gp2g-2517

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