List of amphibians of Korea

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

alamanders

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colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Hynobiidae - 5 species
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Korean salamander
"spelink|Hynobius leechii"(Boulenger, 1887)
Mountain forests
Throughout mainland [Absent from Jeju and some coastal regions, according to Yang (2001), p. 40.] |
*I: Least Concern [IUCN2006|id=59095|year=2004|assessors=Matsui, M. & Wenge, Z.|title=Hynobius leechii|downloaded=2007-06-10]
*SK: ProtectedMinistry of Environment (2005).]
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Jeju salamander
"spelink|Hynobius quelpaertensis"(Mori, 1928)
Montane wetlands
Southwestern islands and peninsulas, including Jeju|
*I: Not assessed
*SK: Protected
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Kori salamander
"spelink|Hynobius yangi"(Kim, Min, & Matsui, 2003)
Moist mountain forests
Far southeastern South Korea [Has been collected only in the vicinity of the Kori nuclear power station in Gijang-gun, northern Busan (Yang 2001, p. 44).] |
*I: Not assessed
*SK: Protected
- valign="top"
Long-tailed salamander
"spelink|Onychodactylus fischeri"(Boulenger, 1886)
High in forested mountain streams
Throughout mainland|
*I: Least ConcernIUCN2006|id=39419|year=2004|title=Onychodactylus fischeri|assessors= Kuzmin, S., Matsui, M., Wenge, Z., Maslova, I. & Tuniyev, B.|downloaded=2007-06-10]
*SK: Threatened, Protected
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Siberian salamander
"spelink|Salamandrella keyserlingii"(Dybowski, 1870)
Wet and riparian forests
Northeasternmost North Korea|
*I: Least Concern [IUCN2006|year=2004|title=Salamandrella keyserlingii|assessors= Kuzmin, S., Ishchenko, V., Matsui, M., Wenge, Z. & Kaneko, Y.|id=59114|downloaded=2007-06-10]
*NK: Natural Monument [The "Hapsu Salamander Habitat" of this species in Paegam, North Hamgyong, is designated North Korean Natural Monument #360. cite web|url=http://nature.cha.go.kr/cont/natural_v.jsp?nat_id=NM-NK360|title=합수도롱룡살이터|work=남북한의천연기념물|author=Cultural Heritage Administration|accessdate=2007-06-16]
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colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Plethodontidae - 1 species
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Korean crevice salamander
"spelink|Karsenia koreana"(Min et al., 2005)
Mossy limestone rockslides in oak-pine forests
Southwestern South Korea|
*I: Least Concern [IUCN2006|year=2006|id=61903|title=Karsenia koreana|assessors= Vieites, D., Karsen, S., Min Mi-Sook, Suh Y. Yang & Wake, D.|downloaded=2007-06-10]

Frogs and toads

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colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Bombinatoridae - 1 species
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Oriental fire-bellied toad korlink|무당개구리
"spelink| Bombina orientalis"(Boulenger, 1890)
Well-vegetated wetlands
Throughout|
*I: Least Concern [IUCN2006|assessors=Kuzmin "et al"|year=2004|id=54449|title=Bombina orientalis|downloaded=2007-06-12]
-
colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Bufonidae - 3 species
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Asiatic toad
"spelink| Bufo gargarizans"(Cantor, 1842)
Widespread
Throughout [Possibly extirpated on Jeju, according to Yang 2001, p. 50.] |
*I: Least Concern
*SK: Protected
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Korean water toad
"spelink| Bufo stejnegeri"(Schmidt, 1931)
Riparian mountain forests
Central Korea [Seldom found south of Gangwon-do, but has been collected from Jirisan, according to Yang 2001, p. 52.] |
*I: Least Concern
*K: Rare
*SK: Protected
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Mongolian toad
"spelink| Pseudepidalea raddei"(Strauch, 1876)
Dry, sandy soil
North Korea|
*I: Least Concern
-
colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Hylidae - 2 species
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Japanese treefrog korlink|청개구리
"spelink| Hyla japonica"(Günther, 1859)
Widespread
Throughout|
*I: Least Concern
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Suwon treefrog
"spelink| Hyla suweonensis"(Kuramoto, 1980)
Widespread
West central Korea [Collected along the western coast from Ganghwado to Cheonan (Yang 2001, p. 56).] |
*I: Data Deficient
*SK: Protected
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colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Microhylidae - 1 species
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Boreal digging frog
"spelink| Kaloula borealis"(Barbour, 1908)
Near cultivated fields
Throughout|
*I: Least Concern
*SK: Endangered
-
colspan="100%" align="center" bgcolor-blue|Ranidae - 8 species
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Korean brown frog
"spelink|Rana coreana" [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).] (Okada, 1928)
Near cultivated fields
Throughout [The boundary between this species' range and the range of "Rana amurensis" is not known with certainty.] |
*I: Not assessed
*SK: Protected
*NK: Natural Monument [The habitat of this species on Kuwolsan in Unryul, South Hwanghae, is designated North Korean Natural Monument #146. cite web|url=http://nature.cha.go.kr/cont/result_v.jsp?nat_id=NM-NK146|title=구월산애기개구리살이터|work=남북한의 천연기념물|author=Cultural Heritage Administration|accessdate=2007-06-16]
- valign="top"
Dybowski's frog korlink|산개구리
"spelink| Rana dybowskii"(Günther, 1876)
Forests
Throughout|
*I: Least Concern
*SK: Protected
- valign="top"
Huanren frog
"spelink|Rana huanrenensis"(Fei, Ye & Huang, 1991)
High mountain streams
Sporadic throughout mainland|
*I: Least Concern
*SK: Protected
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Dark-spotted frog korlink|참개구리
"spelink|Pelophylax nigromaculatus"(Hallowell, 1861)
Stagnant water in forests and meadows
Throughout|
*I: Near Threatened [IUCN2006|id=58679|assessors= Kuzmin, S., Maslova, I., Tuniyev, B., Matsui, M., Pipeng, L. & Kaneko, Y.|title=Rana nigromaculata|downloaded=2007-06-12|year=2004]
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Seoul frog
"spelink|Pelophylax chosenicus" [Per Frost (2007). Given as "Rana plancyi" in Yang (2001) and older records, and as "Rana chosenica" in the IUCN Red List.] (Okada, 1931)
Ponds and rice paddies
Western Korea [Not found on Jeju in recent surveys, according to Yang (2001), p. 68.] |
*I: Vulnerable [IUCN2006|id=58577|assessors=Matsui, M.|title=Rana chosenica|year=2004|downloaded=2007-06-12]
*SK: Endangered
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Imienpo Station frog
"spelink|Glandirana emeljanovi" [Per Frost (2007). Previously considered a single species with the Japanese wrinkled frog, "spelink|Glandirana rugosa".] (Nikolskii, 1913)
Slow streams and wetlands
Throughout mainland|
*I: Least Concern [IUCN2006|id=58591|year=2004|title=Rana emeljanovi|assessors= Kuzmin, S., Matsui, M., Wenge, Z. & Kaneko, Y.|downloaded=2007-06-11]
- valign="top"
American bullfrog korlink|황소개구리
"spelink|Rana catesbeiana"Shaw, 1802
Stagnant waters
Throughout [Not confirmed in the wild on Jeju (Yang 2001, p. 72).] |
*I: Least ConcernIUCN2006|assessors=Santos-Barrera, G. "et al". |year=2004|id=58565|title=Rana catesbeiana|downloaded=2007-06-12 ]
*K: Invasive

Notes

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 http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
*cite web|author=Ministry of Environment (South Korea)|work=Enforcement Decree of the Protection of Wild Flora and Fauna Act (야생동·식물보호법 시행규칙)|date=2005-09-27|title=(별표 6) 포획금지야생동물 |accessdate=2007-06-21|url=http://www.klaw.go.kr/CNT2/LawContent/MCNT2BylView.jsp?s_lawmst=71754&s_bylmst=723348&l_language=KR&gubun=pop&keyword=
*cite book|author=Son Sang-ho (손상호)|coauthors=Lee Yong-uk (이용욱)|title=양서 파충류 도감 |year=2007|publisher=Slow & Steady|location=Seoul|id=ISBN 978-89-89370-53-6
*cite book|author=Yang, Seo-yeong|title=Monograph of Korean Amphibia|id=|publisher=Academy Books|location=Seoul|year=2001|id=ISBN 89-76162-38-2

ee also

*List of mammals of Korea
*List of reptiles of Korea
*List of freshwater fish of Korea

External links

*ko icon [http://frogkorea.knue.ac.kr/sub02_3.htm Amphibians of Korea]
*ko icon [http://www.kunsan.ac.kr/dogam/pa/pa.html Rare and endangered reptiles and amphibians of Korea]
*ko icon [http://www.ecolib.or.kr/natclass/class_2.asp Protected species of South Korea]