Abstract: In this paper 28 (male 10 and female 18) cheek teeth samples of the adult rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta) in the Taihang Mountains were collected and 5 molar area variables (crown length multiplied by width ) of permanent cheek teeth were measured by the method suggested by anthropometry. Sexual discriminant functions were constructed by mean of Fisher’s method employing SPSS10.0 for windows. The statistical test showed that the correct sex discriminant rates of maxillary and mandible cheek teeth reached 89.13 % and 92.13 % respectively. The results of stepwise discriminant analysis confirmed the functions were suitable for sexual discrimination of the molar, and it suggested their high applicative values in practice.

Key words: Macaca mulatta; Cheek teeth; Sexual dimorphism; Discriminant analysis