Distinct specific status of the Korean brown frog, Rana amurensis coreana (Amphibia: Ranidae).
We used morphological and genetic data to assess the taxonomic status of Rana amurensis coreana and R. a. amurensis. Morphological comparisons revealed these two subspecies to be different from each other in size of body, nature of tubercles on dorsal stripe, degree of development in toe webbing, and condition of lateral spots of trunk. They were also different in sequence of mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, with genetic distance as large as those observed among different species of brown frogs. Therefore, Korean populations previously considered a subspecies of R. amurensis should be regarded as a distinct species (=R. coreana).
Song
Jae-Young
JY
Department of Biology, Kyonggi University, Suwon, Korea. song@seoul.korea.com
Matsui
Masafumi
M
Chung
Kyu-Hoi
KH
Oh
Hong-Shik
HS
Zhao
Wenge
W
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D011898:Ranidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity
D000077278:RNA, Mitochondrial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012313:RNA