Part 3

Cacopoides borealis Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 51(12):231, April, 1908 (type locality, Antung, Manchuria).

Kaloula borealis, Noble, Amer. Mus. Novit., 165:6, April 16, 1925.

Specimens examined (8).--5 mi. ESE Seoul, 1 (KU); 6 mi. E Seoul, 3 (UMMZ); 7 mi. ESE Seoul, 4 (KU).

Remarks.--On April 5, one male and three females were uncovered by a bulldozer from between one and two feet below the surface of the ground in an old Korean burial mound; one individual was completely surrounded by compact soil. All quickly became active when placed in water. Two of the females (43 and 44 in snout-vent length) contained masses of immature eggs. A male obtained on June 4 was found during a rain; the three UMMZ specimens were obtained on July 8 on banks above the Han River. Breeding of this species seems to coincide with the rainy season in late spring and early summer when males were noted calling around flooded ditches and swales in deep grass. The local Korean name of the species, which sounds something like "maeng-kongi," is said to come from the call, which is best described as a monotonous, snoring sound that rarely is heard in two parts as suggested by the name.

=Hyla arborea japonica= Günther

Hyla arborea var. savignyi Boulenger, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 5, 19:67, January, 1887 (type locality, Gensan [= Wonsan], Korea).

Hyla stepheni Boulenger, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 579, pl. 51, fig. 1 (for 1887), April, 1888 (type locality, Port Hamilton, a small island between Korea and Japan).

Specimens examined (44).--Central National Forest, near Pup´yong-ni, 2 (KU); 3 mi. NW Chip´o-ri, 1 (KU); 1 mi. N Mosulp´o, Cheju Do, 1 (KU); 1 mi. NW Oho-ri, 13 (KU), 3 (UMMZ); Sangbonch´on-ni, 2 (UMMZ); 5 mi. ESE Seoul, 8 (KU); 6 mi. E Seoul, 10 (KU), 3 (UMMZ); 7 mi. NNE Sogwi-ri, Cheju Do, 1 (UMMZ).

Remarks.--Hylids from 5 mi. ESE Seoul were collected from a cement-walled pit at the Seoul City Water Works; a specimen of Elaphe rufodorsata taken in the pit had eaten one hylid. Two individuals were taken in the morning of May 29 on leaf litter in a wooded valley in the Central National Forest where a number were calling in a light rain, but the species was rarely found in woods. Two frogs were found along a rocky stream at Sangbonch´on-ni. Most individuals were taken while calling, on grasses and reeds or on the ground, along the edges of rice fields. Sixteen hylids collected 1 mi. NW Oho-ri were calling in shallow water of a rice field on a hillside, but none was heard in a large lake nearby or in adjacent fields. On May 15, 4 mi. ESE Ch´orwon, approximately one hundred tadpoles, thought to be of this species, congregated near a drain (into a lower field) of an unused rice field; the tadpoles were well-developed, some having hind legs. The earliest and latest dates of collection represented in our material are May 8 and October 29. The call is best described as a raspy "waak," "week," or "wiick" in the middle register.

The listing of "Hylae arboreae var japonicae descript pars Schleg. in Fauna Japon. p. 112 ..." by Günther (1858:81) in synonymy under the account of Polypedates schlegelii, implies that Schlegel was the first author to use the name-combination Hyla arborea japonica. Boulenger (1882:86, 381) went so far as to credit Schlegel as the author of the name japonica. The reason for this action is not known because Schlegel (in von Siebold, 1838:112) referred to this hylid only under the name "Hyla arborea."

=Rana rugosa= Schlegel

Rana rugosa Schlegel, Reptilia [Saurii et Batrachii], in von Siebold, Fauna Japonica, p. 110, pl. 3, figs. 3-4, 1838 (type locality designated as Japan, probably near Nagasaki, by Stejneger, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 58:123, July 22, 1907).

Specimens examined (26).--Central National Forest, near Pup´yong-ni, 13 (KU), 1 (UMMZ); 2 mi. S Ch´orwon, 4 (KU); 2 mi. E Hoengsong, 3 (KU); 1 mi. NW Oho-ri, 1 (KU); 5 mi. ESE Seoul, 1 (KU); 6 mi. E Seoul, 3 (UMMZ).

Remarks.--Rana rugosa was associated with Rana nigromaculata and Rana amurensis coreana at all localities where the species was taken save at 2 mi. E Hoengsong, where R. a. coreana was not observed. Three specimens of R. rugosa were collected among grasses and reeds in water along the edge of Ch´orwon Reservoir, 2 mi. S Ch´orwon, where they were difficult to find in the thick vegetation even though their low, soft calls were heard; the specimen from 1 mi. NW Oho-ri was found in a rice field. Otherwise, habitats recorded indicate a preference for small, fast-flowing streams, especially in wooded valleys. On one occasion, individuals were found trapped in cement-walled pits about old ruins on a wooded hillside in the Central National Forest. The earliest and latest dates of capture among our specimens are May 15 and November 6. In addition to the localities listed above, the species was observed 4 mi. W Ch´ungju.

R. rugosa may have an extensive breeding season as suggested by the variation in size of frogs collected or observed in 1954. Of nine frogs obtained on May 29, five ranged in snout-vent length from 26 to 28, and four from 42 to 54. Three specimens collected on October 9 measured 39, 41, and 55, and two obtained on November 6 measured 25 and 37.

=Rana nigromaculata= Hallowell

Rana nigromaculata Hallowell, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, :500 (for 1860), 1861 (type locality, Simoda, Japan).

Specimens examined (47).--Central National Forest, near Pup´yong-ni, 6 (KU); 2 mi. S Ch´orwon, 5 (KU); 4 mi. W Ch´ungju, 2 (KU); 7 mi. W Ch´ungju, 1 (KU); 2 mi. E Hoengsong, 1 (KU); 8 mi. SW Kunsan, 1 (KU); 1 mi. NW Oho-ri, 5 (KU); 5 mi. ENE Pusan, 2 (KU); 5 mi. ESE Seoul, 9 (KU); 6 mi. E Seoul, 3 (KU), 10 (UMMZ); 6 mi. NNE Sogwi-ri, Cheju Do, 2 (KU).

Description.--Back brownish or grayish (greenish in life), having few, indistinct or well-defined, dark blotches, or extensive blackish areas (representing fusion of markings); pale, middorsal stripe (pale green, buff or yellowish in life) from snout to anus, sometimes as wide as interorbital width, but indistinct or lacking when pattern on back absent; blackish bar often present behind tympanum; posterior surface of thigh mottled; underparts pale yellow to whitish, sometimes having a few dusky marks on throat; longitudinal ridges between dorsolateral folds indistinct in some small frogs; largest female and male having respective snout-vent lengths of 100 and 70.

Remarks.--Rana nigromaculata is the most abundant ranid in central Korea and, in a general way, the ecological equivalent of Rana pipiens in temperate North America. The species is associated with most aquatic habitats, from rocky streams to rice fields and large impoundments. In the vicinity of Seoul the din of large breeding congresses was heard more or less continuously from mid-April to mid-May. Large numbers of juveniles (approximately one inch long) were noticed first on July 8 and were present thereafter for about three weeks, being commonest in standing water after heavy rains or during prolonged showers. These data and the different sizes of individuals collected at the same time suggest either variable growth or, more probably, an extensive breeding season. Our earliest and latest dates of collection are April 16 and October 7. The Korean name for "frog," most often applied to R. nigromaculata, sounds something like "keg-oh-ree." The call is a prolonged, raspy, staccato croak, sometimes with a rising inflection at the end.

In addition to the localities listed above, the species was observed 5 mi. W Kwangju and 3 mi. S Osan.

Despite a high degree of individual variation, Rana nigromaculata seemingly varies geographically as well; some subspecies probably should be recognized, but the species as a whole has never been thoroughly studied systematically. The division of R. nigromaculata into three subspecies by Schmidt (1927:563-567) was considered untenable by Fang and Chang (1931:95-98), and it has been regarded by most recent authors as a variable, monotypic species.

The named subspecies R. n. chosenica (Okada, 1931:89, with type locality at Seoul, and geographically restricted to Korea) was considered a subspecies of Rana plancyi by Shannon (1956:36). The most trenchant characters of plancyi seem to be the wide dorsolateral folds, the uniform greenish dorsum, the presence of dermal pustules on the back between the dorsolateral folds, and the lack of a mottled pattern on the posterior surface of the thigh. Among our specimens of R. nigromaculata, the width of the dorsolateral folds is variable, a uniform greenish dorsum is found only in large males, dermal pustules are mixed with ridges in only one male (KU 38733), and all have a spotted or mottled pattern on the posterior surface of the thigh. All of our specimens having an indistinct pattern on the back, or lacking a pattern, are males and resemble the photographs of males published by Moriya (1954: pl. I, fig. 5) and Liu (1936: pl. IV, figs. 1-2); juveniles of both sexes and large females have contrasting patterns.

None of our frogs seems, therefore, clearly referable to the species plancyi, although some characters are suggestive of plancyi. Moriya (op. cit.:19), who studied variation of R. nigromaculata in Japan, noted that one of the most distinct populations there (R. n. brevipoda) resembled Rana plancyi. Ting (1939) discovered that nigromaculata and plancyi were cross-fertile and raised hybrid larvae through metamorphosis. Pope and Boring (1940) suggested hybridization between the two species in eastern China, and the above mentioned facts suggest to us the possibility of hybridization in other regions.

=Rana amurensis coreana= Okada

Rana temporaria coreana Okada, Annot. Zool. Japon., 11:140 (footnote), July 25, 1927, nomen nudum.

Rana temporaria coreana Okada, Jour. Chosen Nat. Hist. Soc, 6:19, pl. 1, fig. 7, 1928 (type locality, Keijo [= Seoul], Korea).

Rana amurensis coreana, Shannon, Herpetologica, 12:38, March 6, 1956.