Sorex gracillimus Thomas, 1907 —Slender Shrew

Sorex minutus gracillimus Thomas, 1907b p.408; Type locality- Sakhalin, Russia; Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.48; Won, 1958 p.450; Jones & Johnson, 1960 p.561; Won, 1967 p.269; Won, 1968 p.59.

Sorex gracillimus: Corbet, 1978 p.19; Yoon, 1992 p.19; Han, 1994 p.45; Won & Smith, 1999 p.10; Han, 2004a p.32.

Range: Sorex gracillimus has its distribution limited to extreme northeastern Korea at Mt. Baekdu (Fig. 12). An alleged collection of this shrew at Mt. Jiri in 1983 found no support from a specimen or official collection of this shrew in South Korea (Han 2004a). Thus, the occurrence of this species in South Korea remains problematic.

Remarks: Additional efforts are necessary to determine the status of this species in North Korea. Previously, S. gracillimus was considered a subspecies of Sorex minutus . The subspecies inhabiting Korea remains doubtful, but is probably S. g. hyojironis, since this subspecies occupies nearby Manchuria.