• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.79-101
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• 2023

Following recent taxonomic, distributional, and nomenclatural revisions, an updated checklist of endemic plants on the Korean Peninsula is needed. This study provides an updated checklist of vascular plants endemic to the Korean Peninsula and describes their distribution within administrative provinces. The revised checklist includes 373 endemic taxa (304 species, six subspecies, 49 varieties, and 14 nothospecies) from 179 genera and 64 families, representing 9.5% of the total native flora of the Korean Peninsula. Asteraceae (41 taxa), Ranunculaceae (29 taxa), Liliaceae s.l. (24 taxa), and Rosaceae (22 taxa) were the most widely represented families. Compared with the most recent checklist published in 2017, 39 taxa were excluded from the checklist; one taxon was excluded because it did not have a valid published name, seven taxa were excluded because their natural habitats extended to neighboring countries, four taxa were excluded because they were treated as a rank form, and 27 taxa were excluded because they had been identified as heterotypic synonyms of taxa distributed outside of the Korean Peninsula. Fifty-two new taxa were included based on the literature. This checklist will help to focus conservation efforts and provide a framework for research, protection, and policy implementation related to these endemic taxa.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2022

This study is based on crane fly specimens collected more than 80 years ago in 1938-1939 and preserved at the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA. Despite many attempts with a variety of methods, no additional specimens of this genus were captured. This likely means that that this genus is extinct on the Korean Peninsula, or its distribution is restricted to the northern areas of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The genus Prionolabis Osten Sacken, 1860 with four species, one of them Prionolabis dis(Alexander, 1950) endemic to North Korea, was recorded by Ch. P. Alexander (Alexander, 1938, 1940, 1950). All succeeding papers listing these species were based on these original works without study based on actual specimens. For each species, we present general information on genus, redescriptions of species based on Korean specimens, illustrations of important taxonomical structures, elevation range, period of activity, habitat information, general distribution, and a distribution map for the Korean Peninsula.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.44-48
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• 2016

The Korean peninsula has diverse habitats and so would be expected to have a rich millipede fauna because of its location between the Paleoarctic and Oriental regions. To facilitate studies on millipedes, this work provides an updated list and discussion of Korean millipedes. A total of 69 species had been recorded up to 2010, but since then no new species have been reported. Among 69 species, 49 are endemic to the Korean peninsula. From 1950 to the present, an average of only seven new species from the Korean peninsula has been described per decade. This number does not reflect the biodiversity of millipedes in Korea, especially when compared to Taiwan, which has only one-third the area of the Korean peninsula, but from which a greater number of millipede species have been recorded (75 vs. 69 species). Japan has twofold the land area of the Korean peninsula, and an almost threefold higher number of millipede species. Further, more-intensive surveys will likely result in identification of more millipede species in the Korean peninsula.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.133-154
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• 2023

The Korean Peninsula is geographically located in the centre of Far Eastern Asia and has complex and various climate conditions following longitudinal topology, which would expect to be result in high diversity and endemism of millipede. In this study, the millipede fauna of the Korean Peninsula consists of 68 species plus 5 subspecies from 29 genera, 15 families and 7 orders. Of these species/subspecies, 29 and 12 are endemic in South Korea and North Korea, respectively; nine are recorded in both South Korea and North Korea. Each species has been provided comprehensive information including an original report, taxonomic changes, distribution, and remarks if necessary. Moreover, unsolved taxonomic uncertainty of some species included in this checklist should be investigated through further study.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 2021

Saussurea albifolia, a new species, is reported from the Baekdudaegan Mountains. It has distinctive morphological characteristics that distinguish it from other congeneric species of Saussurea in Korea; radical leaves persist or withered till flowering, white tomentose leaf beneath, campanulate involucre with brown-cobwebby hairs, and dark purplish phyllaries with acuminate tips. Saussurea albifolia is a new, endemic species, narrowly restricted to the Korean Peninsula as a consequence of adaptation to alpine or subalpine environments of the Baekdudaegan Area. Among the Korean species of Saussurea, S. gracilis Maxim., S. insularis Kitam., and S. seoulensis Nakai are morphologically similar to S. albifolia by having leaves with white hairs beneath and persistent radical leaves during blooming period. It has been well understood that Saussurea is one of the highly diversified and adaptable groups in Asteraceae and also that the currently recognized species in Korea likely significant underestimates its diversity on the Korean Peninsula.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.253-261
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• 2020

Carex splendentissima U. Kang & J. M. Chung, endemic to the Korean peninsula, is characterized by staminate terminal spikes and glabrous elliptic perigynia. Based on its broad leaves, androgynous spikes, and tri-stigmatic features, the species has been placed in Carex sect. Siderostictae Franch. ex Ohwi, an East Asian section and a basal group in the genus. To clarify the monophyly and phylogenetic position of the species, a molecular study using the internal transcribed spacer region of nuclear ribosomal DNA and chloroplast DNA (trnL-F) data was conducted. The DNA sequence data of ten taxa in sect. Siderostictae and closely related taxa (two taxa in sect. Surculosae) with outgroups were analyzed based on maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood (ML) criteria. In the analyses, C. splendentissima was monophyletic and placed within the Siderostictae clade (sect. Siderostictae + two species of sect. Surculosae), forming a clade with C. ciliatomarginata and C. pachygyna (endemic to Japan). The clade (C. splendentissima + C. ciliatomarginata + C. pachygyna) shows evidence of diploidy. Furthermore, C. splendentissima is a sister to C. ciliatomarginata in the ML tree, and the two taxa have staminate terminal spikes. This study also updates the distribution of C. splendentissima and provides keys to the four Korean taxa in sect. Siderostictae. To conserve the endemic species C. splendentissima, further research on its genetic and ecological features should be conducted at the population level.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.262-268
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• 2022

The complete chloroplast genome (cp genome) sequence of Clematis calcicola J. S. Kim (Ranunculaceae) is 159,655 bp in length. It consists of large (79,451 bp) and small (18,126 bp) single-copy regions and a pair of identical inverted repeats (31,039 bp). The genome contains 92 protein-coding genes, 36 transfer RNA genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and two pseudogenes. A phylogenetic analysis based on the cp genome of 19 taxa showed high similarity between our cp genome and data published for C. calcicola, which is recognized as a species endemic to the Korean Peninsula. The complete cp genome sequence of C. calcicola reported here provides important information for future phylogenetic and evolutionary studies of Ranunculaceae.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.47-60
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• 2022

This study is based on crane fly specimens collected during more than 80 years, from 1937 through 2019, and are in collections maintained at the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA; at Korea University collection, Seoul, South Korea, and the National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, South Korea. Three species belonging to genus Phylidorea Bigot, 1854 originally were described from North Korea and in total four species were known from the Peninsula. Phylidorea (Phylidorea) multidentata (Alexander, 1938) is a Korean endemic. We are adding P. (P.) melanommata (Alexander, 1921) to the list of Korean species, which was previously recorded from Japan and Far East of Russia. We present general information on genus and subgenera, redescriptions of species based on Korean specimens, illustrations of both sexes, elevation range, period of activity, habitat information, general distribution, and a distribution map for the Korean Peninsula (including North Korea) for each species.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the species composition and distribution patterns of intertidal fishes from the Shandong Peninsula, China from August 2006 to September 2007. The collected fishes were composed of 28 species, belonging to 21 genera, 14 families and 6 orders. Among them, the family Gobiidae was most abundant in both the number of species and individuals, while two species including Hexagrammos agrammus and Sebastes schlegelii were caught in large quantities of young fishes. In this study, Sebastes koreanus and Porocottus leptosomus known as Korean endemic species so far were collected in the Shandong Peninsula, therefore it should be revised that these two species were distributed on the North Yellow Sea and owned by both China and Korea.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.264-288
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• 2017

In order to organize a new checklist for endemic vascular plants of the Korean Peninsula, 358 taxa of the Korea Forest Service and 375 taxa of the National Institute of Biological Resources were reviewed. In addition, the names of previously published endemic plants above the rank of variety were checked up to 2016. From the two lists, a total of 444 taxa were identified. Among them, 289 taxa were common on the two lists, but 69 and 86 taxa were listed only by the Korea Forest Service and by the National Institute of Biological Resources, respectively. Taxonomic documents including journal papers and dissertations were examined with regard to the 444 taxa. In some cases, opinions of Korean experts in this field were also reflected. From the results, 312 taxa in total were recognized as plants endemic to the Korean Peninsula, while 132 taxa could not be included on the endemic list. On the other hand, 48 taxa, none of which existed on the two lists, were newly listed. In conclusion, the new checklist of vascular plants endemic to Korea was confirmed, with a total of 360 taxa consisting of 64 families, 172 genera, 297 species, 4 subspecies, 51 varieties and 8 hybrids. The new common name Halla-seol-aeng-cho is given to Primula farinosa L. subsp. modesta (Bisset & S. Moore) Pax var. hannasanensis (T. Yamaz.) T. Yamaz. Sillaphyton Pimenov (Deok-u-gi-reum-na-mul-sok) is newly identified as a genus endemic to Korea. However, Pentactina Nakai could not be included on the list of Korean vascular endemic genera.