Somogyi Múzeumok Közleményei 13. (1998)

Marián M. 1998: A Zselic kétéltű és hüllő faunájáról (Amphibia, Reptilia)

304 On the amphibian and reptile fauna of the Zselic (Amphibia, Reptilia) MIKLÓS MARIÁN The author continued research for examining the spreading relations of the amphibia and reptilia of the Zselic in the frame of a research programme carried to by the Rippl-Rónay Museum of Kaposvár, and then by the Janus Pannonius Museum of Pécs, during the six years of the periods 1954-1956 and 1983-1987. There has not been published a survey about the herpetological aspects of this area, therefore this work is to be considered as a basic one, according to the intention of the author. The collecting work was made in spring and autumn regularly. The demonstration material was prepared by the author himself, and it was deposited in the Museum of Pécs. Zselic is a hilly area, indented by brooks. The highest point of it is 358 m above sea level. The climate is subMediterranean. The quantity of the annual precipitation is 750 mm. The inner territory is covered by an uninterrupted forest (zone-like associations of hornbeam-oak groves, beech-groves, associations of alder, oak-elm-ash groves). There are wide-spread culture areas in the nord and south. The ponds are artificial, having been created by damming up the brooks. The author states that the Zselic belongs to the fauna region lllyricum. The species are presented in the paper, their presence in Hungary and in the Zselic, as well as their biological aspects which are more important from the point of faunistic view are discussed. Special attention is made to their hibernation modes. In the case of each species the author makes reference to the nature protection activities needed for the protection of the species or the population of the species. The localities are illustrated in an Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) net map. The Zselic belongs to the Zoogeographie fauna region lllyricum. It has a fauna of mountainy character. The character species are: Bombina variegata and Podarcis muralis muralis. 12 amphibia species are living in the Zselic, representing three-quaters of the amphibia in Hungary. There are 7 species of the reptilia, representing the half of the reptile species in Hungary. The list of the species can be seen in the Table 1. A szerző címe (Author's address): dr. Marián Miklós Kelemen u. 4. H-6720 Szeged Hungary