Sentence:  The range is from 14 to 25 inches ; the <WSD>former</WSD> figure is based on a somewhat unusual birth of four by a Central American female ( see chapter on Laying , Brooding , Hatching , and Birth ) , the latter on a `` normal '' newly born individual . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  referring to the first of two things or persons mentioned (or the earlier one or ones of several); I prefer the former version to the latter one"