A Specimen of Karsenia koreana (Caudata: Plethodontidae) Misidentified as Hynobius leechii 27 Years before the Species’ Description and Additional Historical Record

Abstract

We describe a specimen of Karsenia koreana, the only Asian plethodontid salamander, found in the herpetology collection of Ewha Woman’s University Natural History Museum (EWNHM), Republic of Korea. This specimen was collected in Daedun Mountain, North Jeolla Province on 8 May 1978 and subsequently misidentified as Hynobius leechii. Therefore, the collection of this particular specimen predates the formal description of the species by 27 years. We also remark on the specimen previously described by Nishikawa (2009) and an observation of K. koreana made in Baekun Mountain on 24 August 1999. These records altogether represent fuller historical data on records of this species prior to its formal description.