Hungarian Natural History Museum Research Articles

Taxonomic house-keeping: redescriptions of three poorly known pseudoscorpions described in the 19th century (Pseudoscorpiones: Atemnidae, Chernetidae)

The holotypes of three taxa from the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum are redescribed and taxonomically revised: Chernes horvathii Daday, 1889 from Azerbaijan, which is is transferred from the subfamily Chernetinae to Lamprochernetinae, as a member of the genus Pselaphochernes Beier, 1932, and newly synonymised with P. scorpioides (Hermann, 1804). Additionally, Chernes armatus Tömösváry, 1884 from West Africa is transferred from the family Chernetidae to Atemnidae, and to the genus Tamenus Beier, 1932, and Chernes brasiliensis Daday, 1889 from Brazil is confirmed as a species of Lustrochernes Beier, 1932.

New additions to the North Korean fauna based on the tenthredinid sawflies (Hymenoptera) housed in the Hungarian Natural History Museum

The North Korean sawflies housed in the Hymenoptera Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum are studied, with a focus on the subfamilies Athaliinae and Allantinae. Five genera and 10 species including one subspecies of the two subfamilies are identified. Athalia indiana Benson is reported for the first time from East Asia (North Korea), and further eight species and one subspecies are discovered in the new country of North Korea: Allantus helanshanicus Wei, Li and Xiao, Apethymus kolthoffi (Forsius), A. sidorenkoi Sundukov, Athalia japonica (Klug), A.proxima (Klug), A.rosae ruficornis Jakowlew, Beleses satonis (Takeuchi), Taxonus carbonarius Takeuchi, and T.montanus Togashi. Additionally, Athalia infumata (Marlatt) and Allantus exitus Lee and Ryu, syn. nov. are considered a junior subjective synonym of Athaliaproxima (Klug) and Allantus luctifer (F. Smith), respectively. Diagnoses and photographs of the newly recorded species are provided, as well as new distributional records and brief notes on the new synonymy.

Rare Middle Triassic coleoids from the Alpine-Carpathian system: new records from Slovakia and their significance

Two stratigraphically well constrained (by ammonites and conodonts) coleoid remains have been recorded from the Triassic (Anisian) dark-grey organodetritic limestones (Ráztoka Limestone) of Western Carpathians (Hronic Nappe). The limestones deposited at the periphery of a former carbonate platform. It yields a highly diverse cephalopod fauna including nautiloids (2 taxa), ammonoids (7 taxa) and indetermined aulacoceratids. Two unusual coleoid specimens are referred to genus Mojsisovicsteuthis (M. boeckhi) and probably to a new taxon (described as Breviconoteuthis aff. breviconus herein) possessing similar morphological features of genus Breviconoteuthis (Phragmoteuthida) and/or Zugmontites. Based on index ammonites and conodonts, both records are of the uppermost Trinodosus through the lowermost Reitzi zones (Anisian—lower Illyrian). While the genus Mojsisovicsteuthis has been widely dispersed (however its records are rare), the occurrence of Breviconoteuthis and Zugmontites is strictly limited to the Alpine-Carpathian region. Comparing with the holotype and additional specimens stored in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, the overal shell of Mojsisovicsteuthis and its size has been reconstructed. Its relationship to aulacoceratids and phragmoteuthids is briefly discussed. Geochemical record (n-alkanes from the bulk rock) provided a relevant signal of the existence of algal meadows.

Not all apparently gynandromorphic butterflies are gynandrous: The case of Polyommatus icarus and its relatives (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Beside the more than two thousand normal specimens of Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775) yielded by rearing experiments, there was one perfectly bilateral dichromatic individual first considered to be gynandrous. On the basis of analysing genitalia traits, wing surface covering scale micromorphology, and the spectral characteristics of the blue colour generated by the cover scales, the gender of the specimen has been identified as female. This exemplar was investigated in comparison with gynandrous specimens from the collections of the Hungarian Natural History Museum exhibiting various degrees of intermixing of blue and brown coloration. Focus stacking microscopy for detailed scale morphology and UV–visible reflectance spectroscopy was used for the characterization of the optical properties. Inspecting literature references and the Lycaenidae collection of the museum, further examples have been found for female bilateral dichromatism in the closely related polyommatine lycaenid species Lysandra bellargus (Rottemburg, 1775) and Lysandra coridon (Poda, 1761) what suggests that polyommatine female dichromaticity may be displayed by the manner of bilaterality and mosaicism, phenomena hitherto solely connected to gynandromorphy.

Database and Digitization of Regional Historical Herbaria: A Case Study of Margittai Collection in the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU)

The digitization of herbarium collections guarantees a preservation and long-term use of scientifically valuable objects, e.g., wide and convenient access to these materials online and exchange between institutions. These are also important elements in the education and popularization of botanical knowledge. No less significant is the practical aspect of these studies due to the danger of these collections’ destruction as a result of Russian aggression—some of them have already been destroyed. The analyzed Margittai collection (1500 specimens) is kept at the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU) and belongs to the historical and regional ones. This material is valuable because of its scientific, historical and cultural significance. By the initiative and thanks to the efforts of Prof. S. Fodor, the studied collection (most of which are doublet specimens) was transferred in 1965 from the Hungarian Natural History Museum (BP), where the main herbarium of the researcher is preserved (40,000 specimens), to the Uzhhorod State University. Due to the fact that the collection has not been studied, in 2021, the authors began a special investigation of this collection and assessment of its current state. The structure of the database has been developed, it is being filled, and the digitization of type materials has begun.

Diplopod types in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, II. (Arthropoda: Myriapoda: Diplopoda)

After forty years, the type specimens kept in the Myriapoda Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum are revisited, a current catalogue is provided, and the status of the old names are updated and reevaluated. A total of 239 nominal taxa (species, subspecies, varietas and forma) are listed which is an almost fivefold increase compared to the number (35) of the previous catalogue from 1983. Two collections of old type specimens arrived to the museum after 1983: a set of Daday’s types from the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle Genève in 2004, and another collection containing Loksa’s material from the Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in 2017. Thorough search in the collection revealed type material of 66 species-group taxa originally considered lost. 53 type specimens that were supposedly deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum are missing, and the possible reason for that is discussed. In addition, a comprehensive bibliography is given along with the names of all type taxa dealt in those publications. With 43 figures, 8 tables, and an appendix.

New taxa described by the staff of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2023

In this paper an overview and a list are given of the new taxa described by the scientific staff members and volunteer researchers of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2023. The list contains 115 species-group names, five genus-group names, and one family-group name proposed by the authors. With one figure.

New data on <i>Longitarsus rubellus</i> species group with description of a new species from Western Balkans (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticini)

A new Longitarsus species is described from Western Balkans: Longitarsus carolileonardii (Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mojmilo) following the study of five specimens housed at the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. The new species belongs to the Longitarsus rubellus species group including also L. rubellus (Foudras 1860), L. gruevi Leonardi & Mohr 1974, L. refugiensis Leonardi & Mohr 1974 and L. ibericus Leonardi & Mohr 1974. Altogether, these species have similar habitus, but can be distinguished from each other mainly by the male sexual characters. A comparative table summarizes the diagnostic characters for all the species in the group. New distributional, biological and morphological data are also given.

Bioregionalization of Albania: Mismatch between the flora and the climate suggests that our models of Southern European bioregions are in need of a revision

We analysed the floristic subdivisions of Albania by hierarchical clustering of all the vascular plant species of Albania over a grid of 25 km cells, adapting data from the Vascular Species Distribution Atlas in Albania of ( Barina Z (ed.) (2017) Distribution atlas of vascular plants in Albania. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest). We identified the principal axes of variation of the flora and the bioclimatic variables that explain it. We also analysed the bioclimate of Albania by means of a self-organizing map (SOM) of the main climatic variables and the application of the global bioclimatic model of Rivas-Martínez. We compared the analysis based on the flora with that based on the bioclimate. The results divided Albania into eight floristic units corresponding to the main vegetation types (Carpinus orientalis woodlands, Quercus cerris woodlands, Quercus petraea and Fagus sylvatica woodlands, Quercus coccifera woodlands, Quercus coccifera and Quercus ithaburensis woodlands, Pinus heldreichii woodlands, alpine vegetation of North Albania, and alpine vegetation of eastern Albania). Two main trends of variation can be recognized: four elevational belts, strongly correlated with average July temperature, and a north–south subdivision, weakly correlated with annual rainfall and thermal excursion. The bioclimatic analysis (SOM and Rivas-Martínez model) resolves and adds detail to the axis of the elevational belts but cannot discern the north–south subdivision apart from the high mountains. We obtained a division into eight floristic units ordered according to two gradients: four elevational belts, each in turn subdivided into a north-central and a southern province. These two gradients seem to have a broader meaning in Southern Europe, particularly the north–south subdivision at about 30° latitude. The partial mismatch between the bioclimate and the flora indicates that bioclimatic models of Europe are in need of a revision and suggests that the history, in addition to the present-day climate (for instance, the vegetation of the last glacial maximum), can play a role in shaping the biogeography of Southern Europe.

Historical bryophyte specimens from Montenegro in the Hungarian Natural History Museum

184 specimens, collected by ten persons between 1890–1975 from Montenegro, were found in the Bryophyte Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Most of the specimens (40%) were collected near Herceg Novi in Boka Kotorska Bay. Another significant part of the specimens (35%) was collected in Kotor or in the surrounding of the town. 18% of the specimens derives from the Orjen Mts. The others are sporadic records from various parts of Montenegro. 80% of the specimens were unpublished. Most of the species found are common, widespread members of the Montenegrin flora, but some rare elements were also found. The Mediterranean, subMediterranean liverworts (Cephaloziella turneri, Myriocoleopsis minutissima, Scapania compacta and Southbya tophacea) from the surroundings of Herceg Novi that are rare in Montenegro are the most important from the point of view of nature conservation.

First record of Eupteryx decemnotata Rey, 1891 from Hungary – a Trojan horse in leafhopper skin (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae)

The first Hungarian record of Eupteryx decemnotata Rey, 1891 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae), the Ligurian leafhopper, is based on specimens collected on herbs grown in balcony boxes, in Budapest, May 2021. Voucher specimens are deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum. The species is a potential horticultural pest exhibiting a rapid range expansion in many parts of the world.

New species, subspecies and genera described by the staff of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2022

In this paper an overview and a list are given of the new taxa described by the scientific staff members and volunteer researchers of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2022. The list contains 83 species-group and 18 genus-group names proposed by the authors. With one figure.

Revision of bryophyte specimens from Montenegro

More than hundred specimens of problematic or taxonomically re-evaluated taxa were revised in the Bryophyte Herbarium of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest (BP) and in the herbarium of P. Erzberger, Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin Dahlem (B). As result two species (Lophozia silvicola, Ulota interm edia) can be added to the Montenegrin bryophyte flora and one species (Brachythecium tenuicale) should be deleted. The recent distribution of several taxa of conservation interest was clarified, e. g. rarities like Neckera pumila, Ulota bruchii or genera potentially threatened due to climate change like Philonotis and Timmia. The results are important contributions to the preparation of an updated checklist and red list of the Montenegrin bryoflora.

The type material of Diptera (Insecta) species described by Kálmán Kertész (1867–1922)

The Hungarian dipterologist Kálmán Kertész (1867–1922), founder of the Diptera Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, described 353 dipteran species new to science, and excluding three species, the type specimens of the new taxa were deposited his mother institute. The type material of 241 species has been destroyed by fire in 1956, while that of 109 species is still available. In total, 379 type specimens (34 holotypes, 271 syntypes, 11 lectotypes, 63 paralectotypes) of 109 species are available. Original combinations of scientific names of species are listed, followed by citations of the papers including the descriptions, enumerations of the type material if still available, and the currently valid names. With five figures.

Typification of Names in Iris (Iridaceae) Described by Victor Janka with Taxonomic Considerations.

Viktor Janka von Bulcs described five names in Iris, i.e., I. balkana, I. cretensis, I. lorea, I. mellita, and I. sintenisii. These names are typified on specimens deposited at BP, JE, LD, and P, and taxonomical information is provided in the present report. Lectotypes are designated for I. mellita (a taxonomic synonym of I. suaveolens) deposited at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (JE), for I. sintenisii at Lund University (LD), and for I. lorea (a taxonomic synonym of I. sintenisii) at the French National Museum of Natural History (P). A neotype is designated and an image provided for the name I. balkana (a taxonomic synonym of I. reichenbachii) deposited at the Hungarian Natural History Museum (BP). The lectotype for I. cretensis (a taxonomic synonym of I. unguicularis) from JE is corrected. Images of plants of the accepted taxa are provided.

Redescription of Neocypridella fossulata (Daday, 1910) (Crustacea: Ostracoda) and description of a new subfamily.

Neocypridella fossulata (Daday, 1910) is redescribed based on type material from the Daday collection (Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest). The major diagnostic characters of the genus are the ovate shape of the carapace in lateral view, with the left valve overlapping the right valve, the absence of marginal septa on the valve margins, the right valve anterior selvage not inwardly displaced, the presence of a Wouters organ on the first antenna, the divided penultimate segment of the second antenna, the markedly large -seta on the mandibular palp, the subquadrate terminal segment of the maxillula palp, the divided penultimate segment of the second thoracopod with setae d1 and d2 both long, the slender caudal ramus and the slender caudal ramus attachment with thin dorsal and ventral branches. Neocypridella fossulata can be further characterized by the oblique carapace in frontal view, the two smooth bristles on the maxillula third endite and the thin and long Ga claw of the caudal ramus, which is c. 3/5 of the length of the ramus. The morphology of Neocypridella is compared with related taxa and the taxonomic position of the genus is discussed. This revealed that Neocypridella cannot be assigned to any of the extant subfamilies in the Cyprididae. Therefore, a new subfamily, Neocypridellinae subfam. nov., is erected.

Biography and scientific work of György Szollát (1954–2021) in the Hungarian Natural History Museum

György Szollát, a Hungarian biologist and botanist, was working in the vascular plant collections of the Department of Botany in the Hungarian Natural History Museum from 1978 to 2007. His main fields were exploring and monitoring the flora and vegetation of the national parks and protected areas in the surroundings of Budapest, in the Gerecse Mts, in Nógrád and Somogy counties, in the Dráva Lowland, in Mt Szársomlyó, and in the Aggtelek National Park. He also participated in several expeditions to unique destinations such as the trips to North Korea within an exchange program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His publications and educational activities were outstanding concerning the more than 50 papers and articles, numerous exhibition scripts, presentations and the translations of many natural history books and documentaries. His photographs of flowers were published in different journals and magazines. Between 2007 and 2018, he was an academic teacher at the faculty of nature conservation engineering at the Kaposvár University.

Eucrostes indigenata in the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

Altogether 103 specimens of Eucrostes indigenata (Villers, 1789) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Geometrinae: Comostolini) are deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum. The species was found in the Carpathian Basin in 1895 for the first time, and the latest record dates back to 1974. Although the first record from Grebenac (Serbia) was mentioned in several references around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, apparently it was forgotten later, and it was neglected by most authors of the recent decades. The voucher specimen of the first Hungarian record is illustrated. A case of mislabelling in Imre Frivaldszky’s collection is documented. The first record of the species from the Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes), Greece, is presented.

New species and genera described in the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2021

In this paper an overview and a list are given of the new taxa described by the scientific staff members and volunteer researchers of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in 2021. The list contains 69 species-group and eight genus-group names proposed by the authors. With one figure.

The wing phalanges (Phalanx proximalis digiti majoris) of European Accipitriformes and Falconiformes

Abstract The authors compared the first phalanx of the second wing finger of 33 European diurnal raptors. The importance of studying this bone lies in the fact that, although it has diagnosable characteristics, it was practically neglected by osteologists and paleontologists. Thus, fossil materials can be identified through them, as well as those from owl pellets. The comparison was made possible by the comparative avian skeleton collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. In a preliminary investigation we examined the morphological diversity of the first phalanx of the second wing finger among the different species. We used principal component (PC) analyses on measurements. The PC described the curvature of the anterior surface of the bone and the relative size of the distal and proximal epiphyses. The principal component analysis showed slightly overlapping in shape between the taxons but the accipitriform and falconiform birds diverged in the morphospace. The attributes and geometry of the first phalanx of the second wing finger reflects more on taxonomic background than flying behaviour. The avian wing is a complex and highly modulable structure, therefore, probably body mass and size affect flying performance than the other morphological features of this bone. The text is supplemented by 6 figures and one size table.