Sea Slugs of Korea
Dong Bum Koh

ISBN 89-920-8200-2
Paperback. 210 x 148mm. 250 pp
Published by Pungdeung. Publishing, Korea
2006

Many long-term visitors to the Forum will be familiar with the many contributions Dr Dong Bum Koh has made to the Forum over recent years, giving us a tantalising glimpse of the opisthobranch fauna of the southeastern corner of the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. As would be expected, it has much in common with the Japanese fauna, which we know much more about, but he has also been able to introduce new information on species which are very familiar to those on the west coast of Nth America, which appear to have a much wider distribution around the northern Pacific than previously known

It was therefore a pleasant surprise to receive this book in the mail. It records and illustrates about 200 species of nudibranchs and related opisthobranchs. It is written in Korean, so apart from the names, I can't say anything about the text. However the many photographs are excellent and arranged, usually two or three to each page. For about half the species there are multiple photos illustrating colour variations, egg masses and other aspects of their biology. The page I have scanned alongside illustrates Hermissenda crassicornis, a species we normally associate with California and the west coast of Nth America. Even if you cannot read Korean, this book will give you an excellent introduction to the opisthobranchs of the Korean Peninsula.

Bill Rudman 

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2006 (June 16) Sea Slugs of Korea. Dong Bum Koh. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/brkoh01