Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status
Author
Jo, Yeong-Seok
Author
Baccus, John T.
Author
Koprowski, John L.
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-11-19
4522
1
1
216
journal article
27944
10.11646/zootaxa.4522.1.1
58e0c7c5-75ec-4b1b-beb0-d01527f710f9
1175-5326
2610198
C24EFA8A-A5A0-4B06-A0A9-632F542B9529
Genus
Eptesicus
Rafinesque, 1820
Eptesicus
represents the only genus of the Tribe
Eptesicini
, Subfamily
Vespertilioninae
in
Korea
. Three species were previously listed in
Korea
, but the presence of
E. kobayashii
Mori, 1928
lacks substantial support.
Eptesicus kobayashii
was reported as a new endemic species in 1928 based on three specimens from Pyeongyang. However, these samples became unavailable and prevented taxonomic research on this species. The uncertain taxonomic status of
E. kobayashii
led
Koopman (1993
,
1994
) to propose it as a synonym of
E. bottae
. Based on morphological similarities with
E. serotinus
,
Horácek
et al
. (2000)
suggested that the three Korean specimens might belong to the latter species. The collection of
E. kobayashii
ended after the 1920s. The assigned identity and purported record in 1979 remains questionable; thus, one must conclude that either these specimens were erroneously identified (in this case,
E. kobayashii
is not a valid taxon), or the species no longer occurs in
Korea
.
Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951)
listed
E. kobayashii
as
incertae sedis
. Because no specimen has been collected in about 100 years, the existence of this bat is questionable and listing of Kobayashi’s serotine as a species in
Korea
seems unwarranted at this time.
Kishida and Mori (1931)
listed
E. rananensis
in northern
Korea
without any description or explanation.
Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951)
considered the species as a
nomen nudum.
Won (1968)
delisted
E. rananensis
from the mammals of
Korea
. Therefore, we confirm only two species of
Eptesicus
in
Korea
.