Kaloula borealis (Barbour, 1908)

Open encyclopedia reference

The boreal digging frog (Kaloula borealis) is a species of microhylid, or "narrow-mouthed," frog found in Northeast Asia. Its range covers much of central and northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Jeju Island. Adult boreal digging frogs are roughly 4.5 cm in length, round in shape with toad-like speckled skin. Tadpoles are up to 35 mm (1.4 in) in length.

The boreal digging frog is common across much of its range, but is listed as an "Endangered category II species" in South Korea. It inhabits cultivated fields, including rice paddies, and is often found in close proximity to humanity, at altitudes of 10 to 900 m.

Boreal digging frogs breed during the annual rainy season, around June and July. After the rainy season is over they dig burrows underground, emerging only at night to feed. The eggs are laid in batches of 15–20 in monsoonal pools, with the tadpoles maturing within 30 days, much faster than most other frogs in this area.

Wikipedia contributors, Boreal digging frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T16:44:14.936536+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Kaloula borealis (Barbour, 1908)

Name authority

(Barbour, 1908)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Microhylidae

Genus

Kaloula

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderAnura
10. familyMicrohylidae Günther, 1858
11. subfamilyMicrohylinae Günther, 1858
12. genusKaloula Gray, 1831
13. speciesKaloula borealis (Barbour, 1908)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Kaloula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 516 records assigned to Microhylidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=664577 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3QZKK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.