Talk:Vipera

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 12:27, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Illustration of actual birth?
A photo or drawing of a viper giving birth would add greatly, as would an explanation of how the young grow and whether they are immediately independent. Sorry I have not the skill to do it myself. The San Antonio (TX) Zoo has a photo in Sept. 5, 2008, Express-News but that would not meet Wikipedia requirements. Cwilsyn (talk) 15:49, 5 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Here's an image for you: Image:Nerodia rhombifer2.jpg. It shows a harmless diamondback watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer, found in North America) giving birth, but it is exactly the same with many other species of snakes (see Ovoviviparity). Actually, what such snakes do is lay eggs that have fully developed embryos and no leathery shell -- only a transparent membrane, as you can see in the image. The advantage of this, as opposed to just laying the eggs in a suitable spot somewhere and leaving them to their fate, is that the female can better better regulate their temperature as she regulated her own (by seeking warm areas in a cool environment and cool places in a hot one). Also, I imagine she can afford them a little extra protection. It's considered a more advanced reproductive strategy. The neonates are small-scale replicas of the adults, fully able to take care of themselves. There are been documented cases of females that displayed possible guarding behavior over recently born live young (e.g. see Agkistrodon piscivorus, last paragraph), but whether this was actually the case is open to debate. Basically, whether they hatch or are born alive, as soon as they emerge into the world they are on their own. After that, under natural circumstances most species take at least two years to reach sexual maturity. --Jwinius (talk) 00:00, 6 September 2008 (UTC)