List of amphibians of Korea explained

This is a list of amphibian species found in the wild in Korea, including the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. A total of 20 species of amphibians are known from Korea; this includes two species of salamander that were not discovered until the 21st century.

This list treats the taxonomic designations found in Frost (2007) as authoritative. There have been major revisions of amphibian taxonomy, including the taxonomy of many Korean species, since the late 20th century. This has included studies which have found species such as the Korean brown frog and Imienpo Station frog, which were previously considered to be Korean varieties or subspecies of more widespread species, to be distinct. It has also included a wholesale revision of the taxonomy of the Ranidae, or true frogs—for example, the common dark-spotted frog was formerly classified as Rana nigromaculata but is now classified as Pelophylax nigromaculatus.

The following abbreviations are used in the list:

• I: International status, as given in the IUCN Red List
• K: General status in Korea, as given in various sources
• SK: Legal status in South Korea
• NK: Legal status in North Korea

Salamanders

See main article: article and Caudata.

width=20% style="text-align:left"	Common name(Korean name)	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Species(Authority)	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Preferred habitat	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Range	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Status
Hynobiidae - 5 species
Korean salamander(도롱뇽)	Hynobius leechii(Boulenger, 1887)	Mountain forests	Throughout mainland^[1]	I: Least Concern^[2] SK: Protected^[3]
Jeju salamander(제주도롱뇽)	Hynobius quelpaertensis(Mori, 1928)	Montane wetlands	Southwestern islands and peninsulas, including Jeju	I: Data Deficient^[4] SK: Protected
Kori salamander(고리도롱뇽)	Hynobius yangi(Kim, Min, & Matsui, 2003)	Moist mountain forests	Far southeastern South Korea^[5]	I: Endangered^[6] SK: Protected
Long-tailed clawed salamander(꼬리치레도롱뇽)	Onychodactylus fischeri(Boulenger, 1886)	High in forested mountain streams	Throughout mainland	I: Least Concern^[7] SK: Threatened, Protected
Siberian salamander(네발가락도롱뇽)	Salamandrella keyserlingii(Dybowski, 1870)	Wet and riparian forests	Northeasternmost North Korea	I: Least Concern^[8] NK: Natural Monument^[9]
Plethodontidae - 1 species
Korean crevice salamander(이끼도롱뇽)	Karsenia koreana(Min et al., 2005)	Mossy limestone rockslides in oak-pine forests	Southwestern South Korea	I: Least Concern^[10]

Frogs and toads

See main article: article.

width=20% style="text-align:left"	Common name(Korean name)	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Species(Authority)	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Preferred habitat	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Range	width=20% style="text-align:left"	Status
Bombinatoridae - 1 species
Oriental fire-bellied toad (무당개구리)	Bombina orientalis(Boulenger, 1890)	Well-vegetated wetlands	Throughout	I: Least Concern^[11]
Bufonidae - 3 species
Asiatic toad(두꺼비)	Bufo gargarizans(Cantor, 1842)	Widespread	Throughout^[12]	I: Least Concern SK: Protected
Korean water toad(물두꺼비)	Bufo stejnegeri(Schmidt, 1931)	Riparian mountain forests	Central Korea^[13]	I: Least Concern K: Rare SK: Protected
Mongolian toad(작은두꺼비)	Pseudepidalea raddei(Strauch, 1876)	Dry, sandy soil	North Korea	I: Least Concern
Hylidae - 2 species
Japanese treefrog (청개구리)	Hyla japonica(Günther, 1859)	Widespread	Throughout	I: Least Concern
Suwon treefrog(수원청개구리)	Hyla suweonensis(Kuramoto, 1980)	Widespread	West central Korea. Collected along the western coast from Ganghwado to Iksan.^[14] ^[15]	I: Data Deficient SK: Protected
Microhylidae - 1 species
Boreal digging frog(맹꽁이)	Kaloula borealis(Barbour, 1908)	Near cultivated fields	Throughout	I: Least Concern SK: Endangered
Ranidae - 8 species
Korean brown frog(한국산개구리)	Rana coreana^[16] (Okada, 1928)	Near cultivated fields	Throughout^[17]	I: Least Concern^[18] SK: Protected NK: Natural Monument^[19]
Dybowski's frog (산개구리)	Rana dybowskii(Günther, 1876)	Forests	Throughout	I: Least Concern SK: Protected
Huanren frog(계곡산개구리)	Rana huanrenensis(Fei, Ye & Huang, 1991)	High mountain streams	Sporadic throughout mainland	I: Least Concern SK: Protected
Dark-spotted frog (참개구리)	Pelophylax nigromaculatus(Hallowell, 1861)	Stagnant water in forests and meadows	Throughout	I: Near Threatened^[20]
Seoul frog(금개구리)	Pelophylax chosenicus^[21] (Okada, 1931)	Ponds and rice paddies	Western Korea^[22]	I: Vulnerable^[23] SK: Endangered
Imienpo Station frog(옴개구리)	Glandirana emeljanovi^[24] (Nikolskii, 1913)	Slow streams and wetlands	Throughout mainland	I: Least Concern^[25]
American bullfrog (황소개구리)	Rana catesbeianaShaw, 1802	Stagnant waters	Throughout^[26]	I: Least Concern^[27] K: Invasive

See also

• List of mammals of Korea
• List of reptiles of Korea
• List of freshwater fish of Korea

Notes

1. Absent from Jeju and some coastal regions, according to Yang (2001), p. 40.
2. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2019 . Hynobius leechii . 2019 . e.T119241913A63876633 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T119241913A63876633.en . 11 November 2021.
3. Ministry of Environment (2005).
4. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2019 . Hynobius quelpaertensis . 2019 . e.T119242042A110101600 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T119242042A110101600.en . 11 November 2021.
5. Has been collected only in the vicinity of the Kori nuclear power station in Gijang-gun, northern Busan (Yang 2001, p. 44).
6. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2019 . Hynobius yangi . 2019 . e.T136179A110101712 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T136179A110101712.en . 11 November 2021.
7. Sergius Kuzmin, Masafumi Matsui, Zhao Wenge, Irina Maslova, Boris Tuniyev . 2004 . Onychodactylus fischeri . 2004 . e.T39419A10234504 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T39419A10234504.en . 11 November 2021.
8. Kuzmin, S. . Ishchenko, V. . Matsui, M. . Wenge, Z. . Kaneko, Y. . 2008 . Salamandrella keyserlingii . 2008 . e.T59114A11883606 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T59114A11883606.en . 11 November 2021.
9. The "Hapsu Salamander Habitat" of this species in Paegam, North Hamgyong, is designated North Korean Natural Monument #360. Web site: 합수도롱룡살이터. 남북한의천연기념물. Cultural Heritage Administration. 2007-06-16. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220340/http://nature.cha.go.kr/cont/natural_v.jsp?nat_id=NM-NK360. 2007-09-30.
10. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2019 . Karsenia koreana . 2019 . e.T61903A110101886 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T61903A110101886.en . 11 November 2021.
11. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2020 . Bombina orientalis . 2020 . e.T54449A63850146 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T54449A63850146.en . 11 November 2021.
12. Possibly extirpated on Jeju, according to Yang 2001, p. 50.
13. Seldom found south of Gangwon-do, but has been collected from Jirisan, according to Yang 2001, p. 52.
14. Borzée. Amaël. Kim. Kyungmin. Heo. Kyongman. Jablonski. Piotr G.. Jang. Yikweon. Impact of land reclamation and agricultural water regime on the distribution and conservation status of the endangered Dryophytes suweonensis . PeerJ . 4 October 2017. 5. e3872. 10.7717/peerj.3872. 29018610 . 5631092 . free .
15. Yang 2001, p. 56
16. Previously considered a subspecies of Rana amurensis, but determined to be a distinct species by http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.2108%2Fzsj.23.219. Accepted by Foster (2007).
17. The boundary between this species' range and the range of Rana amurensis is not known with certainty.
18. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2019 . Rana coreana . 2019 . e.T89108544A110101367 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T89108544A110101367.en . 11 November 2021.
19. The habitat of this species on Kuwolsan in Unryul, South Hwanghae, is designated North Korean Natural Monument #146. Web site: 구월산애기개구리살이터. 남북한의 천연기념물. Cultural Heritage Administration. 2007-06-16. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184819/http://nature.cha.go.kr/cont/result_v.jsp?nat_id=NM-NK146. 2007-09-30.
20. Sergius Kuzmin, Irina Maslova, Boris Tuniyev, Masafumi Matsui, Li Pipeng, Yoshio Kaneko . 2004 . Pelophylax nigromaculatus . 2004 . e.T58679A11809026 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58679A11809026.en . 11 November 2021.
21. Per Frost (2007). Given as Rana plancyi in Yang (2001) and older records, and as Rana chosenica in the IUCN Red List.
22. Not found on Jeju in recent surveys, according to Yang (2001), p. 68.
23. Masafumi Matsui . 2004 . Pelophylax chosenicus . 2004 . e.T58577A11806007 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58577A11806007.en . 11 November 2021.
24. Per Frost (2007). Previously considered a single species with the Japanese wrinkled frog, Glandirana rugosa.
25. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2020 . Glandirana emeljanovi . 2020 . e.T58591A63878188 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T58591A63878188.en . 11 November 2021.
26. Not confirmed in the wild on Jeju (Yang 2001, p. 72).
27. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group . 2015 . Lithobates catesbeianus . 2015 . e.T58565A53969770 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T58565A53969770.en . 11 November 2021.

References

Unofficial English translations are marked with angle brackets, <>.

• Frost, Darrel R. (2007) Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.0 (1 February 2007). Electronic Database accessible at https://web.archive.org/web/20071024033938/http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
• Web site: Ministry of Environment (South Korea) . Ministry of Environment (South Korea) . Enforcement Decree of the Protection of Wild Flora and Fauna Act (야생동·식물보호법 시행규칙) . 2005-09-27 . (별표 6) 포획금지야생동물 . 2007-06-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160220/http://www.klaw.go.kr/CNT2/LawContent/MCNT2BylView.jsp?s_lawmst=71754&s_bylmst=723348&l_language=KR&gubun=pop&keyword= . 2007-09-30 . dead .
• Book: Son Sang-ho (손상호). Lee Yong-uk (이용욱). 양서 파충류 도감 . 2007. Slow & Steady. Seoul. 978-89-89370-53-6.
• Book: Yang, Seo-yeong. Monograph of Korean Amphibia. Academy Books. Seoul. 2001. 89-76162-38-2.

External links

• Amphibians of Korea
• Rare and endangered reptiles and amphibians of Korea
• Protected species of South Korea