Pelophylax plancyi (Lataste, 1880)

Common Names

Peking Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109).

Beijing Gold-striped Pond Frog (Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 162).

Green Pond Frog (Liu, 1931, Peking Nat. Hist. Bull., 5: 53; Boring, Liu, and Chou, 1932, Handb. N. China, Amph. Rept.: 33).

Seoul Frog (Pelophylax chosenicus: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107).

Pond Frog (Rana chosenica: Liu, 1931, Peking Nat. Hist. Bull., 5: 53).

Gold-spotted Pond Frog (Yang, Kim, Min, and Suh, 2001, Monogr. Korean Amph.: 60 [as Rana plancyi]).

Hubei Frog (Pelophylax hubeiensis: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107).

Hubei Gold-striped Pond Frog (Pelophylax hubeiensis: Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 160).

Seoul Frog (Pelophylax chosenicus: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107).

Pond Frog (Pelophylax chosenicus: Liu, 1931, Peking Nat. Hist. Bull., 5: 53).

Gold-spotted Pond Frog (Pelophylax chosenicus: Yang, Kim, Min, and Suh, 2001, Monogr. Korean Amph.: 60 [as Rana plancyi]).

Distribution

Western and southern Korean Peninsula to Shenyang, Liaoning, and south to extreme northern Fujian north and west to Shanxi and northern Hebei, with an isolated record in southeastern Liaoning, Chongqing, Hubei, southern Henan, Anhui, Hubei, eastern Hunan, and Jiangxi, China, 50 to 10700 m elevation. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: China, People's Republic of, Korea, Democratic People's Republic (North), Korea, Republic of (South)

Comment

See Stejneger, 1907, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 58: 101–102; Boulenger, 1920, Rec. Indian Mus., 20: 85; Okada, 1931, Tailless Batr. Japan. Empire: 92–95, for synonymy and account. See english summary of morphology (as Rana nigromaculata coreana) by Okada, 1928, Annot. Zool. Japon., 11: 270–271.  See also Pope, 1931, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 61: 509–510; Shannon, 1956, Herpetologica, 12: 36–38; and Liu and Hu, 1961, Tailless Amph. China: 166–167. Relationships with Rana nigromaculata discussed by Kawamura and Nishioka, 1979, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 55: 171–185. Kuramoto, 1983, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 6: 253–267, suggested that Pelophylax plancyi fukienensis and Pelophylax plancyi chosenicus (as Rana) might best be regarded as distinct species, Pelophylax fukienensis and Pelophylax chosenicus. Nishioka, Okumoto, and Ryuzaki, 1987, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 9: 161, noted some reduced fertility between Pelophylax chosenicus and Pelophylax fukienensis (as subspecies of Pelophylax plancyi).  See also Yang, Yu, and Park, 1988, Korean J. Zool., 31: 1–10, Zhao and Adler, 1993, Herpetol. China: 146–147; Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China: 227; and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 160–161, who regarded Pelophylax fukienensis as a subspecies of Pelophylax plancyi pending more thorough evaluation of the Chinese mainland populations. Pelophylax hubeiensis considered a synonym (as Rana) of Pelophylax plancyi; without discussion, by Zhao and Adler, 1993, Herpetol. China: 147. Ueda, 1994, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 13: 197–232, noted that Pelophylax plancyi plancyi, Pelophylax plancyi chosenicus, and Pelophylax plancyi fukienensis (all as Rana) had three distinct call types. Fan, Guo, and Liu, 1998, Amph. Rept. Shanxi Prov.: 66–68, provided an account for Shanxi. Yang, Kim, Min, and Suh, 2001, Monogr. Korean Amph.: 68-69, provided a brief account, figure, and map for South Korea (as Rana plancyi). Yang, Kim, Min, and Suh, 2001, Monogr. Korean Amph.: 68–69, provided a brief account, figure, and map for South Korea (as Rana plancyi). In the Pelophylax plancyi group of Fei, Ye, Huang, Jiang, and Xie, 2005, in Fei et al. (eds.), Illust. Key Chinese Amph.: 110. See photograph, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status (as Rana chosenica) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 503. Ra, Sung, Cheong, Lee, Eom, and Park, 2008, Zool. Sci., Tokyo, 25: 894-903, reported on conservation biology (as Pelophylax chosenicus).  Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 3: 1056–1061, provided an account, figures, and map for China and included it in their Pelophylax plancyi group.. Ra, Park, Cheong, Kim, and Sung, 2010, Zool. Sci., Tokyo, 27: 396–401, reported (as Pelophylax chosenicus) on habitat preference and conservation biology.  Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 288, provided a brief account including photographs of specimens and habitat. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 322, provided an account, photographs, and a range map. Li, Lian, and Lu, 2010, Res. Tadpoles Liaoning: 38–41, described and pictured the larva. Dufresnes and Litvinchuk, 2022, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 195: 727, placed Pelophylax chosenicus and Pelophylax hubeiensis in synonymy on the basis of low genetic distances. Dot map and discussion of status (as Pelophylax chosenicus) for North Korea provided by Song, 2016, J. Natl. Park Res., Rep. Korea, 7: 211–217. Borzée, Litvinchuk, Ri, Andersen, Nam, Jon, Man, Choe, Kwon, Othman, Messenger, Bae, Shin, Kim, Maslova, Luedtke, Hobin, Moores, Seliger, Glenk, and Jang, 2021, Animals, 11 (2057): 1–37, provided (as Pelophylax chosenicus) locality records, a distribution map as well as modeled distribution, life history comments, and conservation status for P.D.R. Korea. Dufresnes and Litvinchuk, 2022, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 195: 727, placed Pelophylax chosenicus into the synonymy of Pelophylax plancyi on the basis of low genetic distances.  Zhou, Zhang, Wang, Miao, Xu, Guan, and Shi, 2022, Chinese J. Zool., 57: 440–446, provided a genetically confirmed record of nominal Pelophylax chosenicus from Shenyang, Liaoning, northeastern China. Andersen, Chuang, Choe, Kim, Kwon, Jang, and Borzée, 2022, Zool. Stud., Taipei, 61(25): 1–10, reported on the elevational range (0–494 m) in Rep. Korea. Zhou, Zhang, Hu, Xia, Miao, Guan, and Shi, 2023, Herpetozoa, Wien, 36: 143–152, discussed the evidence for and the validity of Pelophylax chosenicus, and placed it into the synonymy of Pelophylax plancyi.  Borzée, 2024, Continental NE Asian Amph.: 118–127, provided detailed account (as Pelophylax chosenicus and Pelophylax plancyi: distribution including a polygon map, habitat, ecology, conservation, photos of larvae and adults, identification tools) for northeastern Asia.  

Comment under nominal Pelophylax hubeiensis prior to 18 March 2024: Mou and Zhao, 1992, in Jiang (ed.), Collect. Pap. Herpetol.: 15–26, suggested on the basis of identical call parameters, that Pelophylax hubeiensis is a junior synonym of Pelophylax plancyi. This was followed by Zhao and Adler, 1993, Herpetol. China: 147. But, Pelophylax hubeiensis was retained (as Pelophylax hubeiensis) by Ye, Fei, and Hu, 1993, Rare and Economic Amph. China: 221; and Fei, 1999, Atlas Amph. China: 160–161. See comment under Pelophylax plancyi. Fei and Ye, 2001, Color Handbook Amph. Sichuan: 174, provided a brief account and illustration (as Pelophylax hubeiensis). In the Pelophylax plancyi group of Fei, Ye, Huang, Jiang, and Xie, 2005, in Fei et al. (eds.), Illust. Key Chinese Amph.: 110. Fei, Hu, Ye, and Huang, 2009, Fauna Sinica, Amph. 3: 1043–1049, provided an account, figures, and map for China and included it in their Pelophylax plancyi group. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2010, Colored Atlas of Chinese Amph.: 284–285, provided a brief account including photographs of specimens and habitat. Fei, Ye, and Jiang, 2012, Colored Atlas Chinese Amph. Distr.: 320–321, provided an account, photographs, and a range map. See comments by Zhao, Wang, Wang, Liu, and Lu, 2015, J. Henan Normal Univ. (Nat. Sci.), 46: 705–711. Shen, 2014, Fauna Hunan, Amph.: 213–217, provided a detailed account for Hunan, China. Dufresnes and Litvinchuk, 2022, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 195: 727, placed Pelophylax hubeiensis into the synonymy of Pelophylax plancyi on the basis of low genetic distances. Conversely, Zhou, Zhang, Hu, Xia, Miao, Guan, and Shi, 2023, Herpetozoa, Wien, 36: 143–152, provided morphological and mtDNA evidence of the species distinction of Pelophylax hubeiensis from Pelophylax plancyi. 

Comment under nominal Pelophylax chosenicus prior to 18 March 2024: 

Removed from the synonymy of Pelophylax plancyi (as Rana) by Kuramoto, 1983, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 6: 253-267, where it had been placed by Shannon, 1956, Herpetologica, 12: 36. See comments under Pelophylax plancyi. Ueda, 1994, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 13: 197-232, noted that Pelophylax plancyi plancyi, Pelophylax plancyi chosenicus, and Pelophylax plancyi fukienensis (all as Rana) had three distinct call types. Nishioka, Okumoto, and Ryuzaki, 1987, Sci. Rep. Lab. Amph. Biol. Hiroshima Univ., 9: 161, noted some reduced fertility between Pelophylax chosenicus and Pelophylax fukienensis (as subspecies of Pelophylax plancyi). See english summary of morphology (as Rana nigromaculata coreana) by Okada, 1928, Annot. Zool. Japon., 11: 270-271. Yang, Kim, Min, and Suh, 2001, Monogr. Korean Amph.: 68-69, provided a brief account, figure, and map for South Korea (as Rana plancyi). Ra, Sung, Cheong, Lee, Eom, and Park, 2008, Zool. Sci., Tokyo, 25: 894-903, reported on conservation biology. See photograph, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status (as Rana chosenica) in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 503. Ra, Park, Cheong, Kim, and Sung, 2010, Zool. Sci., Tokyo, 27: 396-401, reported on habitat preference and conservation biology. Dot map and discussion of status for North Korea provided by Song, 2016, J. Natl. Park Res., Rep. Korea, 7: 211–217. Borzée, Litvinchuk, Ri, Andersen, Nam, Jon, Man, Choe, Kwon, Othman, Messenger, Bae, Shin, Kim, Maslova, Luedtke, Hobin, Moores, Seliger, Glenk, and Jang, 2021, Animals, 11 (2057): 1–37, provided locality records, a distribution map as well as modeled distribution, life history comments, and conservation status for P.D.R. Korea. Dufresnes and Litvinchuk, 2022, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 195: 727, placed Pelophylax chosenicus into the synonymy of Pelophylax plancyi on the basis of low genetic distances as did : 143–152, on the basis of low mtDNA distance and lack of morphological distinctiveness. Zhou, Zhang, Wang, Miao, Xu, Guan, and Shi, 2022, Chinese J. Zool., 57: 440–446, provided a genetically confirmed record from Shenyang, Liaoning, northeastern China. Andersen, Chuang, Choe, Kim, Kwon, Jang, and Borzée, 2022, Zool. Stud., Taipei, 61(25): 1–10, reported on the elevational range (0–494 m) in Rep. Korea. Borzée, Shin, Bae, Jeong, Amin, Min, and Othman, 2024, Frontiers Biogeograph., 16(2: e62301): 1–21, provided a dot map of Pelophylax chosenicus from the Korean Peninsula and documented two mtDNA matrilines.  

External links:

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• For access to general information see Wikipedia
• For additional sources of general information from other websites search Google
• For access to relevant technical literature search Google Scholar
• For images search CalPhoto Images and Google Images
• To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
• For additional information see AmphibiaWeb report
• For information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
• For information on distribution, habitat, and conservation see the Map of Life
• For related information on conservation and images as well as observations see iNaturalist
• For additional information specific to China see Amphibia China
• For access to available specimen data for this species, from over 350 scientific collections, go to Vertnet.