Meeting Abstract
In the fanged-frog genus Limnonectes, males are larger than females at maturity, with the size discrepancy accredited to their large heads. Big headedness is often attributed to sexual selection arising from male-male fighting for appropriate egg laying habitat, that attracts more females to it. Intrasexual selection driven sexual dimorphism in amphibians has contributed to the hyper diversity of frogs found in tropical regions. Previous morphological descriptions are focused on species level descriptions, demonstrating that skull morphology can differentiate between Limnonectes species, further attributed to differences in mating behavior of species in the genus. However, no osteological description currently exists between male and female individuals within a species. Our goal is to identify differences in the skull morphology between males and females in Sumatran Limnonectes kuhlii, through the study of high-resolution computed microtomography (CT) scans of skulls. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses were used to quantify the variation between males and females using fixed landmarks. Our findings show a suite of sexually dimorphic traits in skull morphology, some likely related to male-male combat. Specific trends in skull sexual dimorphism may be species specific and we also highlight environmental drivers of speciation within the genus.
