Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758

Jo, Yeong-Seok, Baccus, John T. & Koprowski, John L., 2018, Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status, Zootaxa 4522 (1), pp. 1-216 : 165-166

Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 —Eurasian Red Squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 p.63 ; Type locality- Uppsala, Sweden; Thomas, 1907b p.464 (Kaloguai, Korea see S. vulgaris coreae ); Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.472; Won, 1968 p.157; Corbet, 1978 p.77; Han, 1994 p.47; Won & Smith, 1999 p.23; Han, 2004c p.107; Jo et al., 2012 p.253.

S. vulgaris orientis Thomas, 1905 p.345 ; Type locality- Noboribetsu, near Moruran, Hokkaido, Japan; Thomas, 1909 p.501 (Hokkaido and Korea); Tate, 1947 p.213.

S. vulgaris mantchuricus Thomas, 1909 p.501 ; Type locality- Khingan, China; Ognev, 1940 p.364; Koh et al., 2006 p.1.

S. vulgaris coreae Sowerby, 1921 p.250 ; Type locality- Kaloguai, 55miles Northeast of Seoul (Kaloguai is ‘Galugae’ in Wonju and 55 miles Southeast of Seoul); Kuroda, 1938 p.46; Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.474; Won, 1958 p.443; Jones & Johnson, 1965 p.364; Won, 1967 p.171; Won, 1968 p.158.

S. vulgaris coreanus (misprint of coreae): Kishida, 1924 p.153; Kishida & Mori, 1931 p.378.

S. vulgaris vulgaris: Corbet, 1978 p.77 ; Yoon, 1992 p.66.

Range: The Eurasian red squirrel inhabits coniferous forests throughout the Korean Peninsula ( Fig. 113 ). Sciurus vulgaris is native to the Korean Peninsula, but the population on Jeju Island probably originated from pets that escaped in ca. 2000.

Remarks: Three subspecies (orientis, mantchuricus and coreae ) were historically listed for Korea, but only one subspecies of Eurasian red squirrel, S. v. mantchuricus Thomas 1909 represents the subspecies in the country ( Koh et al. 2006). This subspecies has a black tail year-round and dark grey winter pelage. Based on a specimen collected near Seoul, S. v. orientis was reported to inhabit the peninsula ( Thomas 1909; Ognev 1940; Ellerman & Morrison Scott 1951). However, no further reports or evidence have supported its presence in the last 60 years. It appears that Thomas (1909) regarded populations in Korea as S. v. orientis (present in Hokkaido) instead of S. v. mantchuricus from Manchuria. Our opinion was supported by a recent genetic study by Koh et al. (2006) showing no mitochondrial differentiation between red squirrels from South Korea and northeastern China.

Figures

FIGURE 113. Range map of Sciurus vulgaris in Korea.