Morphometric variation of six subspecies of striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius Pallas (Mammalia, Rodentia), from China and Korea

Abstract

Four external and 27 cranial characters of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius) from 16 regions in China and Korea, representing six subspecies, were analyzed by multivariate methods. Three subgroups were recognized: the large-size form from Cheju island, Korea (subspecies chejuensis), the middle-size form from the Korean peninsula (subspecies coreae), and the small-size form from China (subspecies manchuricus, pallidior, ningpoensis, insulaemus). It was confirmed that four subspecies of striped field mouse from China can be classified into subspecies ningpoensis, as noted by Corbet (1978), and that subspecies coreae and chejuensis are distinct subspecies, as stated by Jones and Johnson (1965). In the future, morphometric analyses with striped field mice from Europe and Russia will be necessary to confirm subspecies classification of A. agrarius agrarius.