AGE DETERMINATION IN Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (AMPHIBIA, ANURA) (GUNTHER, 1858) USING SKELETOCHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT

This study was undertaken in order to determine the age of Hoplobatrachus occipitalis using skeletochronological analysis. Fourteen Hoplobatrachus occipitalis specimenswere captured from the University of Benin with mean snout vent length of 71.4mm, their long bone (femur) extracted, micro graphed and examined under a microscope for lines of arrested growth (LAG). Results showed LAGs in full on only two individuals with two and three LAGs respectively indicating their respective ages with body size correlating with age. The low number of individuals possessing LAGs however indicates that determination of the age structure of a population of H. occipitalis in the tropics using bones may not yield accurate results as the ages of many individuals may not be determined due to lack of LAGs. The lack of LAG in an extremely large specimen of H. occipitalis however buttresses the unreliability of the use of LAGs in age determination in the tropics.