Sentence:  The range is from 14 to 25 inches ; the former figure is based on a somewhat unusual birth of four by a Central American <WSD>female</WSD> ( see chapter on Laying , Brooding , Hatching , and Birth ) , the latter on a `` normal '' newly born individual . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa)