A new species, Zabelia densipila M.-P. Hong, Y.-C. Kim & B.Y. Lee (Linnaeaceae) is described from Gangwon-do, Korea and illustrated. The new taxon resembles Z. biflora (Turcz.) Makino, but it can be distinguished by its different flowering seasons, ovaries with densely long-pilose hairs, and sequence differences in nuclear ribosomal DNA and chloroplast DNA coding regions.

Parastenocaris koreana sp. nov. is described based on examination of numerous adult specimens of both sexes from several localities in Korea. Scanning electron micrographs are used to examine intra- and interpopulation variability of micro-characters, in addition to light microscopy. The new species is most closely related to the Japanese P. biwae Miura, 1969, which we redescribe based on newly collected material from the Lake Biwa drainage area. The two species differ in size, relative length of the caudal rami, shape of the anal operculum, shape of the genital double somite, relative length of the inner distal process on the female fifth leg, as well as relative length of the apical setae on the second, third, and fourth legs exopods in both sexes. Detailed examinations of three disjunct populations of P. koreana reveal also some geographical variation, especially in the surface ornamentation of somites, which may indicate some population structuring or even cryptic speciation. Lack of intraspecific variability in the number and position of sensilla on somites, as well as their potential phylogenetic significance, is a novel discovery. Both species examined here belong to the brevipes group, which we redefine to include 20 species from India (including Sri Lanka), Australia, East Asia, Northern Europe, and North America. A key to species of this group is also provided. In order to test the monophyly of the redefined brevipes group with highly disjunct distribution, as well as relationship between different species, a cladistics analysis is performed based on 39 morphological characters and with help of three outgroup taxa. Six equally parsimonious cladograms are generated, all of which show that the ingroup is well defined by at least three synapomorphies. Reconstructed phylogeny questions the previously suggested hypothesis about the origin of this group in South East Asia, with one Australian species showing the most basal position. We speculate that the present distribution of this group may be a combination of ancient vicariance and subsequent dispersal, with a possible origin in the Gondwanaland, in the rift valley between Australia and India.

Japanese/Korean Amynthas carnosus (Goto & Hatai, 1899) is redescribed from a newly designated Neotype (Tokyo NSMT An435). An annotated synonymy is presented that nominally includes: kyamikia Kobayashi, 1934, monstrifera Kobayashi, 1936, sangyeoli, youngtai, kimhaeiensis, sinsiensis and baemsagolensis - all Korean names by Hong & James, 2001, and Taiwanese monsoonus James et al., 2005. However, Chinese A. pingi (Stephenson 1925) (syn. fornicata Gates, 1935) is maintained separately, at least for the present, until its comprehensive review, possibly extending to DNA barcode differentiation.

A harpacticoid copepod, Sinamphiascus dominatus Mu & Gee, 2000 is re-described from the sandy bottom in off Jeju Island of Korea. The genus Sinamphiascus was established with single species, S. dominatus from the Bohai Sea, China. The main diagnostic characters of the specimen from Korea are well matched with the original description, although it has minor discrepancies including the lengths and ornamentation of setae in leg 6 of both sexes, shape of the base on furcal setae and teeth number of labrum in female. However those discrepancies are regarded to the intra-specific variations. This is the first record of genus Sinamphiascus in Korean waters.

During a study of harpacticoid copepods from Korea, one species of the family Orthopsyllidae was found by rinsing macroalgae collected from the intertidal and subtidal zones at Hangaechang, Munseum Islet in Jeju Island of Korea. The Orthopsyllus is closely related to Orthopsyllus linearis curvaspinata Mielke, 1993, however it is distinguished from the original description by the combined characters of slightly slender caudal seta V in the female, relatively short and ovoid caudal ramus, the seta formula of P3, and the length of P2 and P4 endopod in the male. Since Orthopsyllus linearis (Claus, 1866) is notorious for its incomplete previous descriptions and therefore its polymorphic status, it is premature to fix the status of present Orthopsyllus species from Korea, without the detailed comparative study among the congeners. However due to the urgent need for the report of the genus in the region, we report this species as Orthopsyllus linearis (Claus, 1866) like but different one within the genus: Orthopsyllus cf. linearis (Claus,1866). This is the first report of the genus Orthopsyllus for the first time in Korea.

Ishizakiella supralittoralis (Schornikov, 1974) was collected from rock pools near Busan, South Korea, and is redescribed herein. It is the first record of this species from Korea, and also the first finding of a living population of Ishizakiella McKenzie & Sudijono, 1981 from the continental margins. Here we also comment on the diversity of Ishizakiella in Japan, possible existence of cryptic species, and provide a key to all six currently known species of this genus, including the two fossil ones.

Three ciliate species of genus Cyrtohymena, C. australis Foissner, 1995, C. citrina (Berger & Foissner, 1987) and C. muscorum (Kahl, 1932) new to Korea, were collected from semi-terrestrial habitats. The description was based on the observation of live and silver stained specimens. Diagnostic characteristics of these species are as follows. C. autralis: size about $275{\times}100{\mu}m$ in live specimens. Cortical granules yellowish. 18-31 right and 31-40 left marginal cirri in number. Dorsal kineties eight rows. C. citrina: size about $180{\times}50{\mu}m$ in live specimens. Cortical granules yellowish. 26-32 right and 23-27 left marginal cirri in number. Dorsal kineties five to six rows. C. muscorum: size about $180{\times}60{\mu}m$ in live specimens. Cortical granules reddish. 31-34 right and 33-36 left marginal cirri in number. Dorsal kineties six rows. Three species of Cyrtohymena have been added to Korean ciliate fauna from this study. Including previous one species of C. quadrinucleata, four species of this genus in total have been recorded so far in this country.

Before the construction of Hantangang dam, we surveyed vertebrate fauna along the Hantangang River and collected samples. We collected 248 specimens (1,394 individuals) of 41 fish species from 10 families in four orders, including 17 endemic species and 5 endangered species. In our herpetofauna survey, we collected 47 amphibian samples of 10 species from 5 families in 2 orders, and 19 reptile samples of 5 species from 2 families in 1 order. We observed 25 species of bird (6 orders, 14 families) inclulding collection of 51 bird specimens (10 species from 5 families in 1 order). We collected 91 mammals of 6 species, and identified 7 species from field sign and direct observation from a total of 10 families in 5 orders. This collection and list comprise the final vertebrate faunal survey of the Hantangang region, and will provide basic scientific information for future research on conservation and restoration of the region.

Nutria Myocastor coypus is one of a well known invasive riparian mammal found species around world from North America to Eurasia and Africa. In South Korea, feral nutrias inhabit areas from the Nakdonggang and Namgang (River) to their tributaries and Upo Wetland where they have had devastating effects on environment. Nevertheless, there has been little research about nutrias in Korea. This study is to analyze the genetic structure of the nutria population in the Upo Wetland and identify the origin of the source populations. Twenty individuals from the Upo Wetland were genotyped using 25 microsatellite loci. When compared with another introduced population, that of the Blackwater Nation Wildlife Refuge in U.S., the Upo population contains considerable genetic variations. Tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Bayesian clustering analysis suggest the Upo population is genetically structured and has at least two source populations. This preliminary study presents the need for further in-depth studies about this species which should combine genetic and ecological studies.