Ageing and sexing common frogs....?

[BFly]

Hi all,

A bit of a technical question here but i was wondering if someone could give me some advice on how to sex and age common frogs, Rana temporaria, (and if possible toads). I know that the females are "larger" than the males but this isn't always very helpful. I understand that they reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years old. Is/are there any features that could be easilly identified in the field?

Cheers,

Ben

[pet]

Hi Ben, the nuptia pads on the thumbs are much bigger and black in the males, males are usually white or grey on the lower sides and tend to be redish brown in the female. hope this helps. pete.

[BFly]

Thanks Pete, that is just the kind of info i am looking for. I had thought about the nuptual pads as i keep some Xenopus but i wasn't sure if the same would apply to our more terrerstrial species.

Thanks again,

Ben

[BFly]

**nuptial**!!