The Golden Pond Frog, also widely called the Seoul frog, is a bright green frog with two thick, gold-toned ridges running down its back. It lives in rice paddies, ditches, and weedy ponds in the western lowlands of Korea, and possibly in nearby northeastern China. It does not occur in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 1.5–2.4 in (4–6 cm) long, with a rounded body. The back is bright green with two broad, light brown to golden ridges, the belly is yellowish with a reddish tinge, and the iris is golden.
- Voice
- Males have only internal vocal sacs, not the balloon-like outer sacs of many pond frogs, so it is a quiet species that makes only soft, scratchy calls.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Rice paddies
- Irrigation ditches
- Ponds with water plants
- Lowland wetlands
- Range
- Mainly the western Korean Peninsula, especially lowlands near the west coast, and possibly Liaoning Province in China. Not found in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers clean, still water with plenty of aquatic plants and is sensitive to water pollution.
Behavior
- Activity
- A homebody: it usually moves only about 30 ft (10 m) a day and spends the year in a small area of roughly 7,500 sq ft (700 m²).
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Mid-May to June in Korea.
Name and classification
- About the name
- First described in 1931 as a subspecies of the black-spotted frog, then long treated as a subspecies of the eastern golden frog (Pelophylax plancyi). A 2023 study found no clear differences and proposed merging the two, but other classifications still keep the Golden Pond Frog as its own species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- VUVulnerableHigh risk of extinction in the wild
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