First record of the genus Beris Latreille (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Korea, with description of a new species

The subfamily Beridinae of the family Stratiomyidae contains about 280 known species globally, and distributed all over the biogeographical areas except polar region. In the Korean peninsula, the species diversity of this subfamily has been poorly known so far, in accordance with National species list of Korea by National Institue of Biological Resources. In this paper, the soldier fly genus Beris Latreille is reported for the first time from Korea based on following three species: B. fuscipes Meigen, B. hirotui Ôuchi, and B. tigris Lee and Suh, sp. nov. Among them, B. tigris Lee and Suh, sp. nov. was confirmed to be newly discovered. Consequently, three species within this genus have been identified from the Korean peninsula. The identification key, description, external photographs, and taxonomic notes of these Korean species are presented herein.

The emergence of ‘Transeurasian’ language families in Northeast Asia as viewed from archaeological evidence

From a linguistic standpoint, Proto-Japonic and Proto-Koreanic are assumed to have split off the Transeurasian languages in southern Manchuria. The linguistic idea that Proto-Japonic came earlier than Proto-Koreanic in the chronological scheme means that the Proto-Japonic language first entered the Korean Peninsula, and from there spread to the Japanese archipelago at the beginning of the Yayoi period, around the 9th century BC, while the arrival of Proto-Koreanic in southern Korea is associated with the spread of the rolled rim vessel culture around the 5th century BC. The genealogical sequence of the Pianpu, Mumun and Yayoi cultures, which shared the same pottery production techniques, indicates the spread of Proto-Japonic. On the other hand, migrants moved from Liaodong to the Korean Peninsula and established the rolled rim vessel culture. This population movement was likely due to social and political reasons as the Yan state enlarged its territory eastward. The Proto-Koreanic of the rolled rim vessel culture later spread to the Korean Peninsula and gradually drove out Proto-Japonic, becoming the predecessor of the Koreanic. In this paper, I examine the spread of Proto-Japonic and Proto-Koreanic in Northeast Asia based on archaeological evidence, focusing especially on the genealogy of pottery styles and pottery production techniques.

First record of Melanitta fusca in the Republic of Korea and update on Northeast Asian records

We report the first confirmed sighting of the globally Vulnerable Melanitta fusca (Anatidae, Anseriformes) from Yeongil Bay in Pohang in the Republic of Korea. Based on the review of the literature and published checklists of two separate databases (Birds Korea and eBird), we consider this to be the first record of M. fusca on the Korean Peninsula and only the third or fourth record of this species in coastal East Asia.

Taxonomic entity of Saussurea taquetii (Asteraceae) compared with S. japonica and S. pulchella

Saussurea taquetii reported from Jejudo Island is either treated as a synonym of S. japonica or is recognized as a distinct taxon. Saussurea japonica and S. pulchella belong to the sect. Theodorea by having peculiar outer phyllaries with pale purplish scarious apical appendages; they are closely related to each other morphologically and are known to occur widely throughout the Korean Peninsula. To assess the taxonomic status of S. taquetii, we investigated representative populations of S. taquetii from jejudo Island, Korea, and S. japonica from Kyushu in Japan. We conducted a comparative study morphologically using specimens of three species from KH, CNU, and TI. Saussurea taquetii is very similar morphologically and ecologically to S. japonica in Kyushu. Unlike previous floristic treatments, we concluded that the two taxa, S. pulchella and S. taquetii, occur on the Korean Peninsula and on jejudo Island, respectively.

Scientific Analysis for Furnace Walls of the Joseon Dynasty Excavated in Southern Region of the Korean Peninsula

A study on the Joseon Dynasty’s furnace walls, excavated from south Korea, was conducted to identify the correlations and differences of the furnace walls found in Jeolla and Gyeongsang regions. Three ruins in the Jeolla region and two in the Gyeongsang region were selected for the analysis. The results showed a layer change depending on the degree of plasticity and difference in the number of layers and particle phase. Furthermore, although the temperature to be subjected to heat was divided into 1300°C and 1100°C, it was not a phenomenon that appeared according to the region. Additionally, analysis result of major components revealed that the TiO2 content of most samples does not exceed 1wt%, This means that the furnace did not smelt iron sand or smelted it into low-titanium sand. This study indicated a slight similarity between the furnace walls found in the two regions, and the correlation was determined based on the nature of the ruins, raw materials of the metals ores, and composition of the raw materials constituting the furnace walls.