Sexual dimorphism in the frog Aubria subsigillata (Duméril, 1856) (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) in Benin republic, West Africa.

Sexual dimorphism, when present in a given species, is an important adjunct when studying reproductive strategies in amphibian populations. In this study we investigated biometric and qualitative characters for sexing the frog Aubria subsigillata. The objective of this study was to determine from these data the criteria for accurately distinguishing males and females of the frog Aubria subsigillata. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare the means of the collected variables between the sexes and canonical discriminant analysis was used to identify notable dimorphic traits. The results reveal that males have a fairly long humerus (mean 13.49 mm), abdomen and throat generally heavily mottled with black. They lack femoral glands on the femora. In contrast, females have a shorter humerus (mean 13.01 mm), a whitish abdomen and throat and a protruding femoral gland. Females are larger in size (mean 86.19 mm) and are heavier (mean 38.63 g) than males (means 80.19 mm & 30.25 g respectively). For sexing of A. subsigillata individuals, it is important to take into account all these morphological criteria.