Sex recognition by male Andrew's toad Bufo andrewsi in a subtropical montane region

Sex recognition is important for successful reproduction and species usually have efficient systems of signals and responses to find the optimal potential mate. In the present study, we investigated the ability of males to recognize between sexes for two stimulus animals in Andrew's toad Bufo andrewsi, a species widely distributed in western China. When a male was placed with a gravid female and a similar-sized male, the male did not discriminate between them. When two males with distinct size differences were provided with a male, the male chose the larger one. In an experiment in which a gravid female and a different-sized male were offered a test male, males preferred the larger gravid females than smaller males. If a test male clasped a stimulus male, the stimulus male uttered a specific release call that caused the test male to release the stimulus male. These findings suggest that male B. andrewsi can recognize between the sexes probably based on male release calls, and prefer to mate with larger individuals with visual cues.