526.

Korean Field Mouse

Apodemus peninsulae

French: Mulot de Corée / German: Korea-Waldmaus / Spanish: Raton de campo de Corea

Taxonomy. Micromys speciosus peninsulae Thomas, 1907,

“Min-gyoung, 110 mi [= 177 km] S.E. of Seoul[, South Korea]. 1200’ [= 366 m].”

Apodemus peninsulae was classified under subgenus Apodemus by many authors on basis of its morphology. This was later supported by molecular analyses and by morphometric study, as outlined by G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005. H. Suzuki and colleagues in 2008 found it to be part of the Apodemus clade and sister taxon of a subclade including A. draco, A. semotus, and A. latronum . Y. Kaneko in 2015 explored the geographical variability of the skull. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Siberia and Russian Far East, Mongolia, NE & C China, Korea, and N Japan (Hokkaido).

Descriptive notes. Head—body 80-118 mm, tail 75-103 mm, ear 14-17 mm, hindfoot 21-23 mm; weight 19-27 g. A medium-sized species, the Korean Field Mouse has dark yellowish-brown dorsal pelage and is white orgrayish white on belly. It is very similar to the Large Japanese Field Mouse ( A. speciosus), but distinguished by presence of small granules between the four plantar pads of hindfoot. Females bear four pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48, FN = 46-48.

Habitat. Scrublands, grasslands, forest edge, secondary forest, plantations, and cultivated fields. In Hokkaido, the Korean Field Mouse was trapped mainly in man-made habitats such as cultivated fields and shelterbelts.

Food and Feeding. The Korean Field Mouse eats large or middle-sized seeds, and small invertebrates.

Breeding. Breeding season is April-August. Females, after gestation of 20 days, give birth to 1-7 young (average 5).

Activity patterns. Korean Field Mice are terrestrial, and crepuscular or nocturnal. They dig simple burrowsin the soil or above it and line them with vegetable material.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Radius of summer range is less than 30 m.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Last.

Bibliography. Jones (1956), Kaneko (2010, 2012, 2015), Matsubara et al. (2004), Musser & Carleton (2005), Ohdachi et al. (2015), Serizawa et al. (2002), Smith & Yan Xie (2008), Suzuki et al. (2008).