Rattus norvegicus ( Berkenhout, 1769 )

Rattus norvegicus ( Berkenhout, 1769) View in CoL View at ENA —Brown Rat, common rat, Norway rat

Mus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769 p.5 View in CoL ; Type locality- United Kingdom.

M. caraco Pallas, 1778 p.91 View in CoL ; Type locality- China and far eastern Siberia .

Epimys norvegicus caraco: Sowerby, 1923 p.154 .

Rattus norvegicus caraco: Vinogradov & Obolensky, 1927 p.237 ; Won, 1958 p.449; Jones & Johnson, 1965 p.389; Won, 1967 p.248.

R. norvegicus: Kishida & Mori, 1931 p.378 View in CoL ; Won, 1958 p.448; Won, 1967 p.239; Won, 1968 p.172; Yoon, 1992 p.85; Han, 1994 p.47; Won & Smith, 1999 p.27; Han, 2004c p.118.

R. norvegicus norvegicus: Kuroda, 1938 p.69 View in CoL ; Won, 1968 p.173.

Range: The brown rat is commensal everywhere people live on the Korean Peninsula and associated islands ( Fig. 124 View FIGURE 124 ).

Remarks: Corbet (1978) noted that the common rat, Rattus norvegicus , had an extensive distribution in the world and recognized two subspecies ( R. norvegicus norvegicus in the western Palearctic and R. norvegicus caraco in eastern Asia). Won (1967) reported two subspecies of R. norvegicus in Korea ( R. n. norvegicus in most of the peninsula and R. n. caraco in the extreme northern part). Nevertheless, Jones and Johnson (1965) suggested that only one subspecies; R. n. caraco , inhabited the entire peninsula. Kral (1971) reported that the two subspecies of common rats ( R. n. norvegicus ; R. n. caraco ) in Russia had identical karyotypes (seven metacentric, nine telocentric, four subtelocentric autosome pairs); the same karyotype was reported by Kang and Kim (1963) for R. n. norvegicus in Korea. On the basis of C-banding patterns and morphometric variation, Koh (1992) suggested that a single subspecies inhabited Korea, namely R. n. caraco . The subspecies on Ulleung Island was classified as R. n. longicaudus by Mori (1937) but was erroneously identified as a subspecies of R. norvegicus ( Jones & Johnson 1965) . The subspecies on Ulleung Island is Rattus rattus tanezumi .