Ondatra zibethicus ( Linnaeus, 1766 )

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 : 173-174

Ondatra zibethicus ( Linnaeus, 1766) —Common Muskrat

Castor zibethicus Linnaeus, 1766 p.79 ; Type locality- East Canada.

Ondatra zibethicus: Won, 1968 p.200 ; Yoon, 1992 p.76; Han, 1994 p.47; Won & Smith, 1999 p.26; Han, 2004c p.140.

Range: The species has a distribution from the lower reaches of Duman River (river on the border between North Korea and China or North Korea and Russia) and adjacent lakes or reservoirs to the northeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula ( Fig. 118 ). Although muskrat farms exist in South Korea, no established wild population exists. One escapee was caught in 2014 during nutria control at Geum River, Cheonju, South Korea ( Jo et al. 2017a).

Remarks: Muskrats appeared on the Korean Peninsula in 1965 after introduced populations from the Russian Far East had expanded into extreme northeastern Korea. More recently, fur farmers in South Korea have started to import this species in 2005. Due to the high market value of the animal (the price of one live muskrat is $600–1000 USD), breeders rarely lose this expensive animal and only one confirmed escape of a muskrat from a farm occurred in South Korea in 2014. However, there is a high risk that this species is released and invade wetlands in South Korea, similarly to what happened with nutria ( Myocastor coypus ).

Figures

FIGURE 118. Range map of Ondatra zibethicus in Korea.