Guest Review by Steven Barten, DVM (Click on stars for an explanation)

This book is Out of Print.

As the title says, this book is a literature survey, not an in-depth discussion of parental behavior in reptiles. Somma's list is impressive, and the literature citations alone account for 100 pages of this 174 page book. Parental behavior is defined as “behavioral contributions by the parent(s) to offspring survival after parition (oviposition and parturition). [emphasis by the author]” Categories of such behavior are: Coil Around Brood; Nest Constructed and Maintained; Brood Defended; Passive Protection; Thermoregulation; Hydroregulation; False Brooding; Oophagy; Nonviable Eggs Removed from Nest; Parental Care of Neonates; Parent Assists and Grooms Neonates During Hatching or Parturition; Manipulation or Retrieval of Eggs; Communal Care of Eggs or Young; Neonatal Feeding Facilitated; Social Assistance; Normally Does Not Exhibit Parental Behavior, Details Unknown; Reliability Uncertain; and Erroneous Documentation. Nine tables follow, listing references covering parental behavior in other vertebrate classes, parental behavior in extinct “reptiles” (i.e., dinosaurs and pterosaurs), and historical literature describing snakes protecting their young by swallowing them. The longest three tables list parental behavior in turtles, lizards, and snakes, respectively. The lists are by individual species, and include the type of parental behavior described and the relevant literature citations, but no details. The book concludes with the lengthy list of cited literature and an index.

The topic of parental behavior rarely comes up in veterinary medicine other than as a point of curiosity by a client. This is a very well done book, but would be of more use to a biologist or herpetologist, and one with access to herpetological literature, than it would be to most veterinarians.

Published by Krieger Publishing Company, Melbourne, FL (2003).

Hardcover (smaller format: 9-1/4 by 6-1/4"), 174 pages.

ISBN 1-57524-201-X.