Rata de Asia Oriental

discussion

Remarks: The population on Ulleung Island was mistakenly identified as R. n. longicaudus but corrected as R. rattus tanezumi. Corbet (1978) regarded the Korean population as R. r. tanezumi along with China and Japan. Jones and Johnson (1965) described black rats in Korea as R. rattus flavipectus; Won (1967) disagreed and proposed that the black rat in Korea should be R. rattus rufescens. Won (1968) disputed this subspecies with a classification of R. r. rattus instead. Corbet (1978) questioned R. rattus flavipectus stating that R. r. flavipectus was a synonym for R. rattus tanezumi. Koh (1992) confirmed R. r. tanezumi (Temminck, 1844) as the subspecies name for roof rats in Korea. However, Carleton and Musser (2005) elevated R. r. tanezumi to Rattus tanezumi as a monotypic species but mammalogists in Korea rarely accepted R. tanezumi. Based on mtDNA analysis, Kim et al. (2013 b) confirmed the correct identity of R. rattus on Jeju Island as R. tanezumi. Since apparently, R. rattus and R. tanezumi are cryptic species, and morphological identification of specimens was involved, the classification of most R. rattus in Korea must change to R. tanezumi.

Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status

distribution

Range: The range of R. tanezumi converges in the central and southern regions of Korea, with populations especially prominent in and near port cities including Jeju Island and Ulleung Island (Fig. 125). Interactions with R. norvegicus limit the distribution of the roof rat. On Jeju Island, the range of R. tanezumi was restricted to within 1 km of the port (Won 1967).

Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status

distribution

Distribution: Widely distributed in East and South Asia, and Southern Myanmar.

Mammals of Myanmar: an annotated checklist

discussion

Discussion: Rattus rattus species group. The authority is usually cited as 1845, but was published in 1844 (Holthuis and Sakai, 1970). The name tanezumi is the oldest for the 2 n = 42 group of Asian houserats that is distinguished from the 2 n = 38 / 40 R. rattus not only by chromosomal characters but also morphological and biochemical traits (see account of R. rattus). The probable indigenous range is generally north and east of peninsular India (judged by Musser’s study of material in AMNH, BMNH, FMNH, MZB, RMNH, USNM, and geographic distribution of karyotypes with 2 n = 42; Duncan and Van Peenen, 1971; Gadi and Sharma, 1983; Markvong et al., 1973; Niethammer, 1975; Niethammer and Martens, 1975; Ray-Chaudhuri and Pathak, 1970; Raman and Sharma, 1974, 1977; Gill and Gupta, 1989; Tripathy et al., 1985; Yong, 1969; Yosida et al., 1971). In the southern portion of the Western Ghats (along SW peninsula in Karnataka and Maharashtra States) at Sagar, three individuals trapped in forest exhibited 2 n = 42, and three from a nearby " domestic site " had 2 n = 38. The former diploid number was attributed to R. r. wroughtoni and the latter to R. r. rufescens (Lakhotia et al., 1973; Pradhan e

Order Rodentia - Family Muridae