Article
Does viviparity evolve in cold climate reptiles because pregnant females maintain stable (not high) body temperatures?
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution - 1 Aug 2004
Shine Richard
Abstract excerpt
Viviparity (live bearing) has evolved from egg laying (oviparity) in many lineages of lizards and snakes, apparently in response to occupancy of cold climates. Explanations for this pattern have focused on the idea that behaviorally thermoregulating (sun-basking) pregnant female reptiles can maintain higher incubation temperatures for their embryos than would be available in nests under the soil surface. This is...
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