The Korean hare (''Lepus coreanus'') is a species of
hare native to the
Korean Peninsula
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and adjoining parts of northeastern
China.
Description
An adult Korean hare weighs and has a body length of . The tail is typically in length, and the ears are long.
Taxonomy
The Korean hare was first described by Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
in 1892. Five other species of hare in the genus ''Lepus'' occur in eastern Asia: the Chinese hare (''L. sinensis''), the mountain hare
The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats.
Evolution
The mount ...
(''L. timidus''), the Manchurian hare (''L. mandshuricus''), the Japanese hare
The Japanese hare (''Lepus brachyurus'') is a species of hare endemic to Japan. In Japanese, it is called the ''Nousagi'' (Japanese: 野兎), meaning "field rabbit".
Taxonomy
Coenraad Jacob Temminck described the Japanese hare in 1845. The speci ...
(''L. brachyurus'') and the brown hare (''L. capensis''). In 1974, the Korean hare was considered to be a subspecies of ''L. brachyurus'' and in 1978, a subspecies of ''L. sinensis'', however, a study of mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
published in 2010 showed that the Korean hare is a valid species (''L. coreanus'').
Distribution and habitat
The Korean hare is native to the Korean Peninsula and the Jilin Province
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
in northeastern China. It is found on plains, in scrublands and in mountainous regions. Densities ranged from no individuals on coastal cultivated land to four individuals per square kilometre (0.4 square mile) in the hills and five per square kilometres in the mountains. A study in the Jirisan National Park in South Korea found that its abundance increased in proportion to the density of scrub cover in its habitat.[
]
Conservation
The IUCN, in its Red List of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
, lists the Korean hare as being of "Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
". This is because, although the population trend is unknown, this hare seems to be a common species without any specific identified threats. It has been reported as damaging barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
crops in the foothills of South Gyeongsang Province
South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...
, and ringing the bark and killing peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
trees in South Jeolla Province
South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...
, both in South Korea.[
The Ministry of Environment in South Korea designated it as an Endangered species candidate in 2018.][
]
See also
* List of mammals of Korea
Approximately 100 species of mammal are known to inhabit, or to have recently inhabited, the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters. This includes a few species that were introduced in the 20th century; the coypu was introduced for farmi ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1154116
Lepus
Mammals of Korea
Mammals of China
Mammals described in 1892
Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas