Dwarf or Giant....

[Sidius]

I didn't want to use someone elses thread to answer one of my questions.. so I'll just start a different thread. Anyways I purchased this as a dwarf as it didn't matter to me as to which it was. Had been at the lps for about a month and hadn't grown much while there, since I have had him/her (little over a month now), has almost tripled in size....never seen a frog love earthworms so much.. anyways, photos are below. I had agreed with the pet store about it being a dwarf until I read about the blueish coloring on the rear legs. It isn't as noticeable as it was when he/she was smaller, but still kinda there as he/she has gone from about the size of a silver dollar to about 2-3inches in length in the time I have had it. I apologize for the blurry photos but bare with me, as my camera wasn't cooperating. Couple of the photos were taken after his lunch, consisting of six earthworms...so his tummy is a little full.

[SCF]

That's a male giant. =) Weird since they are sold the other way around usually.

[GrifTheGreat]

SCF that is exactly what I was thinking. You almost never see a Giant labled as a Dwarf!

I also agree with SCF that this is a male Giant! Congrats!!

[Sidius]

I did do some reading up before purchasing this little guy as it is my first pixie, but may I ask how you can tell it is a male? I am in no way disappointed it is a giant, however not thinking the 30g I bought for him as an adult is going to cut it now lol....guess I need to see if the lps still has any 75g tanks for $75. Thank you both for your input.

[GrifTheGreat]

I did do some reading up before purchasing this little guy as it is my first pixie, but may I ask how you can tell it is a male? I am in no way disappointed it is a giant, however not thinking the 30g I bought for him as an adult is going to cut it now lol....guess I need to see if the lps still has any 75g tanks for $75. Thank you both for your input.

Head size and shape help determine sex.

30 gallons is perfectly fine for an adult male. Most people keep them in 20 gal long tanks.

[tgampper]

I am going out on a limb and disagree, based on the fact that the tympanum is located about one eye diameter from the eye itself. In giants, the tympanum is about two eye diameters away from the eye. The local tribes in Mozambique believe that the dwarf frog is seen early in the season and grows into the giant later on as the season progresses and heavy rains appear. I guess they think they are the same species. Some herpetologists believe that the dwarf is just a subspecies of the giant. One important distinguishing feature is the male's call. I have recordings of both species and fairly easy to tell apart. To me, it really doesn't matter which species, they are awesome frogs

[GrifTheGreat]

I am going out on a limb and disagree, based on the fact that the tympanum is located about one eye diameter from the eye itself. In giants, the tympanum is about two eye diameters away from the eye. The local tribes in Mozambique believe that the dwarf frog is seen early in the season and grows into the giant later on as the season progresses and heavy rains appear. I guess they think they are the same species. Some herpetologists believe that the dwarf is just a subspecies of the giant. One important distinguishing feature is the male's call. I have recordings of both species and fairly easy to tell apart. To me, it really doesn't matter which species, they are awesome frogs

I thought the Dwarf's tympanum was larger than the eye with an actual white circular spot in the center?

I bought a little over 2 months ago and it is definitely a Giant, but then again it had Blue coloring on the front and hind legs. I can't see any on this frog either because the lighting being poor in the pics or because it is an actual Dwarf like you said Terry.

[SCF]

I am going out on a limb and disagree, based on the fact that the tympanum is located about one eye diameter from the eye itself. In giants, the tympanum is about two eye diameters away from the eye. The local tribes in Mozambique believe that the dwarf frog is seen early in the season and grows into the giant later on as the season progresses and heavy rains appear. I guess they think they are the same species. Some herpetologists believe that the dwarf is just a subspecies of the giant. One important distinguishing feature is the male's call. I have recordings of both species and fairly easy to tell apart. To me, it really doesn't matter which species, they are awesome frogs

I use my big screen tv as my monitor on my main computer, so pictures are huge for me. On picture #1 you can see a slight blueish hue on the inner part of the leg. The gap between the eye and tympanum appears to expand as the frog matures, which would be a good indicator if this were an adult. I could not find any decent pictures of my own to show as an example, but showing one of the Grif's pictures should work. In their picture you can see the gap between the eye and tympanum is nearly identical.

[Lija]

lol i guess with all that fuss over all african bullfrog species, suppliers completely confused now over how to name theirs, the stores around me just go with a pixie name to be safe

honestly i've never seen giant labeled as a dwarf before and for it to be a male too, wow. one other sign of a giant is that green lines on a sides go all the way to a eyes.

[GrifTheGreat]

honestly i've never seen giant labeled as a dwarf before and for it to be a male too, wow. one other sign of a giant is that green lines on a sides go all the way to a eyes.

Alass this is not always true. Some Dwarfs have the lateral stripes to the eyes as well. Probably differs between individuals.

Indeed the gap does expand as the frog grows and matures. This is the same frog that SCF posted a pic of mine. He is just over 2 months and over 5" SVL.

[GrifTheGreat]

Also my Giant Günther's call is ecactly like this.

http://www.frogforum.net/resources/a...ersus_call.swf