30 New Creatures in Dokdo
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Five species of birds, 21 species of insects and four invertebrate sea creatures were recently found around the Dokdo Islets, far eastern territory of Korea, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday. Now, 51 species of plants and 135 species of animals have been confirmed to live there.
Prof. Lim Won-hyeon of Gyeongju University said the common kingfisher, Japanese robin, red-breasted merganser, red-necked phalarope and one other of the recently found species have yet to be listed in Dokdo's field guide.
Among those newly added to the list are 21 species of insect, including trigonotylus ruficornis, and the aplysia sagamiana, an invertebrate sea creature.
Lim has also found 27 plants that came from outside the islet. Whether they will damage endemic plants and ruin the ecosystem will be the subject of research. The ministry has set out to destroy the harmful plants since 2006.
The research was conducted between April and October last year, and the ministry will continue to monitor and conduct research until 2014.