Check List 18(5): 989-993, doi: 10.15560/18.5.989
The first record of an invasive reptile species, Pelomedusa cf. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812) (Pelomedusidae, Testudines), in the wild of South Korea
Seung-Min Park‡, Md Mizanur Rahman‡, Choong-Ho Ham‡, Ha-Cheol Sung§‡ Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea§ Cheonam National University, Guangju, Republic of Korea
Corresponding author: Ha-Cheol Sung ( shcol2002@jnu.ac.kr ) Academic editor: Jesse Grismer © Seung-Min Park, Md Mizanur Rahman, Choong-Ho Ham, Ha-Cheol Sung. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Park S-M, Rahman MM, Ham C-H, Sung H-C (2022) The first record of an invasive reptile species, Pelomedusa cf. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812) (Pelomedusidae, Testudines), in the wild of South Korea. Check List 18(5): 989-993. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.5.989 |  |
Abstract
Invasive species are of global conservation concern. South Korea is also facing the same challenge, especially, due to the growing pet trade. Herein, we report Pelomedusa cf. olivacea (Schweigger, 1812) from the wild in South Korea, where it has been imported as a pet. This is the first record of Pelomedusa in the Asian continent. In October 2019, we found an individual of this species beside Hongje Stream in Seoul. We recommend immediate control measures and strict monitoring of the pet trade to avoid the introduction of more invasive species.
Keywords
African Helmeted Turtle, Hongje Stream, Mauremys reevesii, pet trade, wildlife management