See also: Wildlife of Korea.
Most Korean mammal species are found only in a small part of Korea. The large southeastern island of Jeju, and the rugged northeastern Paektu Mountain region, are particularly known for their distinctive mammal species. Several species, including the Dsinezumi shrew, are found only on Jeju, while many other species, such as the wild boar, are absent or extirpated from there. Some mammals, such as the Manchurian wapiti, are considered natural monuments of North Korea, while others, such as the spotted seal, are considered natural monuments of South Korea.
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status[1] | |
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Family Bovidae: bovids | |||||
Aurochs (오록스) | Bos primigenius (Bojanus, 1827) | Dense forest | Historically throughout mainland[2] |
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Long-tailed goral (산양) | Naemorhedus caudatus[3] (Hamilton Smith, 1827) | High mountains | Historically found throughout the Taebaek Mountains; northern Taebaek Mountains, including the Demilitarized Zone.[4] |
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Family Cervidae: deer | |||||
Siberian roe deer (노루) | Capreolus pygargus (Pallas, 1771) | Forest verges | Throughout; not found on Ulleungdo | ||
Manchurian wapiti (대륙사슴) | Cervus canadensis xanthopygus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1867) | Mixed and Deciduous forests | Once found throughout mainland[9]
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Manchurian sika deer (대륙사슴) | Cervus nippon mantchuricus (Temminck, 1838) | Open forest and forest verges | Throughout mainland[12] |
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Water deer (고라니) | Hydropotes inermis (R. Swinhoe, 1870) | Low mountains and riparian areas; often visits urban areas | Throughout mainland |
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Family Moschidae: musk deer | |||||
Siberian musk deer (사향노루) | Moschus moschiferus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Mountain forest | Historically throughout mainland; North Korea; also found in Gangwon, South Korea |
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Family Suidae: pigs | |||||
Wild boar (멧돼지) | Sus scrofa ussuricus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Mountain forest | Throughout mainland |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |||||
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Family Canidae: canids | |||||||||
Grey wolf (늑대) | Canis lupus | Forests and open woods | Historically throughout mainland; currently Paektu Mountain area | ||||||
Dhole (승냥이) | Cuon alpinus | Dense forest and high mountains | Historically throughout mainland |
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Raccoon dog (너구리) | Nyctereutes procyonoides | Wooded valleys | Throughout mainland |
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Red fox (여우) | Vulpes vulpes | Brushy areas and forest verges | Historically throughout mainland; northern and northeastern Korea | ||||||
Family Felidae | |||||||||
Leopard cat (삵) | Prionailurus bengalensis | Dense forest | Historically throughout mainland; central and northern Korea, with major population in DMZ | ||||||
Eurasian lynx (스라소니) | Lynx lynx | Montane forest | Historically throughout mainland; North Hamgyong and Chagang, North Korea |
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Leopard (표범) | Panthera pardus | High dense forest | Historically throughout mainland; possibly North Korea |
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Tiger (호랑이) | Panthera tigris | Rocky forest | Historically throughout the mainland; possibly northeastern North Korea |
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Family Mustelidae: mustelids | |||||||||
Eurasian otter (수달) | Lutra lutra | Riparian areas | Throughout mainland, scattered | ||||||
Yellow-throated marten (담비) | Martes flavigula (Boddaert, 1785) | High forest | Northern Korea and parts of central and southern Korea: historically throughout mainland Korea |
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Sable (검은담비) | Martes zibellina | High, dense boreal forest | North Hamgyong, northeastern North Korea |
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Asian badger (오소리) | Meles leucurus | Forests and mountain valleys. Fossorial. | Throughout mainland | ||||||
Least weasel (무산쇠족제비) | Mustela nivalis | Subalpine areas | Far northeastern and northwestern North Korea;[38] also northern South Korea |
| |||||
Siberian weasel (족제비) | Mustela sibirica [39] | Forests and riparian areas |
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Family Ursidae: bears | |||||||||
Brown bear (불곰) | Ursus arctos | Thick forest | Central and northern Korea; likely extirpated | ||||||
Asian black bear (반달가슴곰) | Ursus thibetanus (G. Cuvier, 1823)[43] | Thick forest | Historically found throughout mainland; Jirisan and Seoraksan in South Korea; Mount Kumgang and Paektu Mountain in North Korea |
| |||||
Superfamily Pinnipedia: pinnipeds | |||||||||
width=20% style="text-align:left" | Common name (Korean name) | width=20% style="text-align:left" | Species (authority) | width=20% style="text-align:left" | Preferred habitat | width=20% style="text-align:left" | Range | width=20% style="text-align:left" | Status[46] |
Family Otariidae: eared seals | |||||||||
Northern fur seal (물개) | Callorhinus ursinus | Coasts and seas | Sea of Japan | ||||||
Steller sea lion (큰바다사자) | Eumetopias jubatus | Coasts and seas | Northern Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan | ||||||
Japanese sea lion (강치) | Zalophus japonicus | Coasts and seas | East China Sea, Korea Strait, Sea of Japan |
| |||||
Harbor seal (잔점박이물범) | Phoca vitulina | Coasts and seas | Northern Sea of Japan | ||||||
Spotted seal (점박이물범) | Phoca largha | Coasts and seas | Throughout Yellow Sea, Sea of Japan, and Korea Strait; large colony on Baengnyeongdo |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suborder Mysticeti: baleen whales | |||||
Family Balaenidae: right whales | |||||
North Pacific right whale (북태평양참고래) | Eubalaena japonica (Lacépède, 1818) | High reliance on coastal waters | Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, Yellow Sea, East China Sea (wiped out by Japanese, Soviet, and American whalers)
| 信息时报 (the Channel News Info Times). 广州市交互式信息网络有限公司(大洋网). Retrieved November 24. 2014 There have also been unknown quantity of modern catches exist on Taiwan as well.[64] At least two whales were taken off Haiyang in the Yellow Sea in by Japanese whalers in 1944. There have been none of confirmed records along Chinese coasts targeting right whales since after the last catch (or a sighting) in 1977.[65] For the catches in the Yellow Sea, P Wang, the same researcher who reported the catch in December 1977 off Haiyang Island in the Yellow Sea mentioned that it was possibly the same record as one in 1944 by Japanese whalers.[66]
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Bowhead whale (북극고래) | Balaena mysticetus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Coastal and frozen waters | |||
Family Eschrichtiidae: gray whales | |||||
Gray whale (귀신고래) | Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861) | Migratory through coastal waters | Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, Yellow Sea, East China Sea (wiped out by Japanese whalers)
|
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Family Balaenopteridae: rorquals | |||||
Humpback whale (흑고래) | Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) | Coastal waters, often penetrates estuaries |
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Minke whale (밍크고래) | Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Lacépède, 1804) | Widespread | Yellow Sea,[86] East China Sea, Sea of Japan
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Blue whale (대왕고래) | Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Widespread but less common in Mediterranean seas (smaller numbers historically migrated into both sides of Korean Peninsula)[88] | Regarded as being almost/already extinct in east Asian waters[89]
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Fin whale (긴수염고래) | Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Coastal waters | Coastal groups in northeast Asian waters, along with many other baleen species, were likely driven into serious perils or functional extinctions by industrial catches by Japan covering wide ranges of China and Korean EEZ within very short period in 20th century.[93]
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Bryde's whale and Eden's whale[104] (밍크고래) | Balaenoptera brydei Balaenoptera edeni | Widespread in both coastal and pelagic waters | Yellow Sea (possibly), East China Sea, Sea of Japan
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Omura's whale (오무라고래) | Balaenoptera omurai | Widespread in both coastal and pelagic waters |
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Sei whale (밍크고래) | Balaenoptera borealis | Widespread | Yellow Sea,[106] East China Sea, Sea of Japan |
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Suborder Odontoceti: toothed whales | |||||
Family Delphinidae: oceanic dolphins | |||||
Short-beaked common dolphin (짧은부리참돌고래) | Delphinus delphis (Linnaeus, 1758) | Warmer coastal waters | Throughout |
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Common bottlenose dolphin (큰돌고래) | Tursiops truncatus | Warmer coastal and open waters | Throughout | ||
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (남방큰돌고래) | Tursiops aduncus | Warmer coastal waters | Endangered, resident at Jeju Island | ||
Striped dolphin (줄무늬돌고래) | Stenella coeruleoalba | Warmer coastal and open waters |
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Fraser's dolphin (사라와크돌고래) | Lagenodelphis hosei | Warmer coastal waters | Vagrant | ||
Pacific white-sided dolphin (낫돌고래) | Sagmatias obliquidens (Gill, 1865) | Warmer coastal waters | Sea of Japan[108] | ||
Risso's dolphin (큰코돌고래) | Grampus griseus | Coastal and open seas | Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, East China Sea | ||
Family Globicephala: pilot whales | |||||
Short-finned pilot whale (들쇠고래) | Globicephala macrorhynchus | Open seas | Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, East China Sea |
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False killer whale (흑범고래) | Pseudorca crassidens | Coastal and open seas | Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, East China Sea |
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Pygmy killer whale (들고양이고래) | Feresa attenuata | Coastal and open seas | Korea Strait, East China Sea | ||
Killer whale (범고래) | Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Coastal waters | Throughout (reduced by Japanese whalers) |
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Beluga (흰돌고래) | Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776) | Coastal waters | Vagrant from the Sea of Okhotsk[111] |
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Family Phocoenidae: porpoises | |||||
Dall's porpoise (까치돌고래) | Phocoenoides dalli (True, 1885) | Colder ocean waters | North of the 35th parallel in the Sea of Japan | ||
Harbour porpoise (쇠돌고래) | Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758) | Colder ocean waters | Sea of Japan | ||
Finless porpoise (상괭이) | Neophocaena phocaenoides (Cuvier, 1829) | Coastal waters | Yellow Sea (such as at Baengnyeongdo), Korea Strait, southern Sea of Japan |
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Family Physeteridae: sperm whales | |||||
Sperm whale (향고래) | Physeter macrocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Deep oceans | Korea Strait, East China Sea, Sea of Japan (in small numbers) | ||
Family Ziphiidae: beaked whales | |||||
Giant beaked whale (큰부리고래) | Berardius bairdii (Stejneger, 1883) | Open seas | Sea of Japan (reduced by Japanese whalers) | ||
Cuvier's beaked whale (민부리고래) | Ziphius cavirostris | Open seas | |||
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (은행이빨부리고래) | Mesoplodon ginkgodens | Open seas | Sea of Japan, Jeju,[118] East China Sea, Yellow Sea[119] |
Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Erinaceidae: hedgehogs | |||||
Amur hedgehog (고슴도치) | Erinaceus amurensis (Schrenk, 1859) | Deciduous and mixed forests[120] | Throughout mainland |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Talpidae: moles | |||||
Japanese mole (두더지) | Mogera wogura[121] (Temminck, 1833) | High moist forest | Throughout mainland; not found on Jeju or Ulleungdo |
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Family Soricidae: shrews | |||||
Dsinezumi shrew (제주땃쥐) | Crocidura dsinezumi (Temminck, 1842) | Damp forest and grassland | Found only on Jeju[122] |
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Ussuri white-toothed shrew (땃쥐) | Crocidura lasiura (Dobson, 1890) | Widespread | Throughout mainland |
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Lesser white-toothed shrew (작은땃쥐) | Crocidura suaveolens (Pallas, 1811) | Moist deciduous forest | Throughout, including Ulleungdo |
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Eurasian water shrew (갯첨서) | Neomys fodiens (Pennant, 1771) | Riparian areas and mountain lakes | Northern North Korea.[124] |
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Laxmann's shrew (뒤쥐) | Sorex caecutiens (Laxmann, 1788) | Rugged mountains | Northern and northeastern North Korea.[125] |
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Siberian large-toothed shrew (백두산뒤쥐) | Sorex daphaenodon (Thomas, 1907) | Boreal forest and alpine meadows | Paektusan region.[126] | ||
Slender shrew (쇠뒤쥐) | Sorex gracillimus (Thomas, 1907) | Coniferous forest and alpine regions | Northeastern North Korea.[127] |
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Taiga shrew (큰발뒤쥐) | Sorex isodon (Turov, 1924) | Mountain forest | Baekdudaegan mountains.[129] | ||
Eurasian least shrew (꼬마뒤쥐) | Sorex minutissimus (Zimmermann, 1780) | Rugged mountains bove 1500 meters[130] | Central and northern Korea.[131] |
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Ussuri shrew (큰첨서) | Sorex mirabilis (Ognev, 1937) | Moist ground above 1500 meters | Central and northern Korea |
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Long-clawed shrew (긴발톱첨서) | Sorex unguiculatus (Dobson, 1890) | High moist areas | Northeastern North Korea.[132] |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Rhinolophidae: horseshoe bats | |||||
Greater horseshoe bat (관박쥐) | Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) | Roosts in caves and abandoned mines | Scattered throughout, including Jeju |
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Family Vespertilionidae: vesper bats | |||||
Kobayashi's bat (고바야시박쥐) | Eptesicus koyabashii (Mori, 1928) | West central Korea.[135] |
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Northern bat (생박쥐) | Eptesicus nilssonii (Keyserling & Blasius, 1839) | Found in Gyeonggi, northwestern South Korea, and North Hamgyong, northeastern North Korea |
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Serotine bat (문둥이박쥐) | Eptesicus serotinus (Schreber, 1774) | Roosts in roofs and walls | Most common in northwestern Korea |
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Savi's pipistrelle (큰집박쥐) | Hypsugo savii[138] (Bonaparte, 1837) | Roosts in caves[139] | Throughout |
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Common bent-wing bat (긴날개박쥐) | Miniopterus schreibersi (Kuhl, 1817) | Grassland and forest in summer; caves in winter | Scattered throughout |
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Little tube-nosed bat (작은관코박쥐) | Murina aurata (Milne-Edwards, 1872) | Unknown |
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Greater tube-nosed bat (관코박쥐) | Murina leucogaster (Milne-Edwards, 1872) | Unknown.[143] |
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Far Eastern myotis (흰배윗수염박쥐) | Myotis bombinus[144] (Thomas, 1906) | Hibernates in caves | Throughout, including Jeju |
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Daubenton's bat (물윗수염박쥐) | Myotis daubentonii (Kuhl, 1817) | Near water | Throughout, including Jeju |
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Hodgson's bat (오렌지윗수염박쥐) | Myotis formosus (Hodgson, 1835) | Scattered throughout; not found on Jeju[146] |
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Fraternal myotis (긴꼬리윗수염박쥐) | Myotis frater (G.M. Allen, 1923) | Forests | Northern Korea.[147] |
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Ikonnikov's bat (작은윗수염박쥐) | Myotis ikonnikovi (Ognev, 1912) | Scattered throughout, including Jeju |
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Eastern long-fingered bat (큰발윗수염박쥐) | Myotis macrodactylus (Temminck, 1840) | Local throughout, including Jeju |
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Whiskered bat (윗수염박쥐) | Myotis mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817) | Forests | Scattered throughout, including Jeju and Ulleungdo[150] | ||
Birdlike noctule (멧박쥐) | Nyctalus aviator (Thomas, 1911) | Scattered throughout |
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Java pipistrelle (큰집박쥐) | Pipistrellus javanicus[152] (Gray, 1838) | Scattered throughout |
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Brown long-eared bat (토끼박쥐) | Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) | High mountains | The Taebaek Mountains and the Paektusan area in northern North Korea |
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Particoloured bat (북방애기박쥐) | Vespertilio murinus (Linnaeus, 1758) | High forest and grassland in the summer | North Hamgyong, North Korea |
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Asian particolored bat (안주애기박쥐) | Vespertilio superans (Thomas, 1899) | West central Korea.[153] |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Leporidae: leporids | |||||
Korean hare (멧토끼) | Lepus coreanus (Thomas, 1892) | Widespread at low altitudes.[154] | Throughout mainland.[155] |
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Manchurian hare (북방토끼) | Lepus mandschuricus (Radde, 1861) | High rocky forest | Northern Korea |
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Family Ochotonidae: pikas | |||||
Northern pika (우는토끼) | Ochotona hyperborea (Pallas, 1811) | Alpine meadows, 1000–2500 m. | Northern Korea |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Hominidae: great apes | |||||
Human (사람) | Homo sapiens (Linnaeus, 1758) | Widespread | Throughout |
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Common name (Korean name) | Species (authority) | Preferred habitat | Range | Status | |
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Family Muridae: murids | |||||
Striped field mouse (등줄쥐) | Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771) | Widespread | Throughout, including Jeju[157] |
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Jeju striped field mouse (제주등줄쥐) | Apodemus chejuensis[159] (Jones & Johnson, 1965) | Widespread | Found only on Jeju |
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Korean field mouse (흰넓적다리붉은쥐) | Apodemus peninsulae (Thomas, 1907) | Forest verges and brushland | Throughout mainland |
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Eurasian harvest mouse (멧밭쥐) | Micromys minutus (Pallas, 1771) | Low grasslands and fields | Throughout; not found on Ulleungdo |
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House mouse (생쥐) | Mus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Human dwellings | Throughout |
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Brown rat (집쥐) | Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769) | Urban and cultivated areas | Throughout |
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Black rat (애급쥐) | Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) | Urban areas | Central and southern Korea |
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Family Cricetidae: cricetids | |||||
Northern red-backed vole (숲들쥐) | Myodes rutilus (Pallas, 1779) | High, dense mixed forest | Far northeastern Korea | ||
Grey red-backed vole (대륙밭쥐) | Myodes rufocanus[165] (Sundevall, 1846) | Boreal forest | Northern Korea |
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Chinese striped hamster (비단털등줄쥐) | Cricetulus barabensis (Pallas, 1773) | Fields | Sinuiju and Cholsan, North Korea |
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Royal vole (비단털들쥐) | Eothenomys regulus (Thomas, 1907) | Widespread; avoids deep forest | Southern, central and northwestern Korea |
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Mandarin vole (쇠갈밭쥐) | Lasiopodomys mandarinus[170] (Milne-Edwards, 1871) | Grassy wetlands | Southwestern Korea |
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Reed vole (갈밭쥐) | Microtus fortis (Büchner, 1889) | High fields and forest verges | Western and northern Korea |
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Muskrat (사향쥐) | Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766) | Marshes and lakes | Tumen River basin, North Korea.[171] |
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Greater long-tailed hamster (비단털쥐) | Tscherskia triton (de Winton, 1899) | Widespread | Throughout, including Jeju |
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Family Myocastoridae: coypu | |||||
Coypu (뉴트리아) | Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782) | Wetlands | South Korea's Yeongnam region (Introduced for farming in the 1990s) |
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Family Sciuridae: squirrels | |||||
Siberian flying squirrel
| Pteromys volans (Linnaeus, 1758) | Boreal forest | Far northeast and Taebaek Mountains |
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Red squirrel (청설모) | Sciurus vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) | Forests | Throughout mainland[175] |
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Siberian chipmunk (다람쥐) | Tamias sibiricus (Laxmann, 1769) | Forests | Inland throughout |
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Family Dipodidae: jumping mice | |||||
Long-tailed birch mouse (긴꼬리꼬마쥐) | Sicista caudata (Thomas, 1907) | Riparian zones and wetlands | Northeastern Korea[176] |
|