ABSTRACT
Viviparity in snakes has been a source of fascination since ancient times and is a particular focus of biological interest today. Questions about how viviparity is accomplished and how and why it has evolved among snakes are significant, complex, and challenging. Such questions must therefore be addressed through wide-ranging empirical studies and theoretical analyses, while being driven by an evolutionary perspective. Accordingly, research on reproduction in live-bearing snakes draws on methods of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, ecology, systematics, behavior, and phylogenetic analysis (for overview see Blackburn 2000; Thompson and Blackburn 2006; Thompson et al. 2010). Such research offers a powerful illustration of the value-and the necessity-of integrative approaches that transcend traditional disciplinary methodologies and perspectives.
