Eptesicus Rafinesque, 1820

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 : 55

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.