Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)

Phylum Arthropoda 8 7 points on the Rába between Körmend and Rum, which is currently the southwestern edge of the species' occurrence (KOVÁCS et al. 2000a). Records of the nymphs collected on the Rába (44 species) and Lapines (23 species) in 1997-2000 were published in another communication. These examinations confirmed that O. keffermuellerae and Neoephemera maxima breed on the Rába. Although there is an earlier record of Isonychia ignota from Budapest (MOCSÁRY 1896a), this species can be said to occur in Hungary nowadays only on the Rába. Breeding on the Rába by the long-tailed mayfly (Palingenia longicauda) was confirmed by the new collections, and this can be considered its westernmost extent in Europe (KOVÁCS and AMBRUS 2001a). Records of the latest collections appeared in a further paper (KOVÁCS and AMBRUS 2002a): three species

— Raptobaetopus tenellus, Centroptilum nanum and Ephemera glaucops

—proved to be new to the fauna of the region. All three were found in the Rába, the last two not being known hither-to anywhere on the Hungarian stretch of the river. Several rarities were added to the list of species for the Pinka: О. keffermuellerae, О. rhenana, Ephemerella mucronata and E. notata. Eurylophella karelica was found in this country for the first time in 1997, when ANDRÁS AMBRUS and TIBOR KOVÁCS researched its distribution in the Kerka district, the Hetes and the Goricko district of Slovenia. It can now be said to have the strongest breeding populations in the Szentgyörgyvölgy Brook and the Kerca, while also occurring in the Nagy-rét Brook. Its habitats are typically boreal. The species shows a typically disjunct distribution in Europe, with isolated populations in Hungary and Slovenia. On the brink of extinction throughout Europe, it has exceptional value to the region (KOVÁCS and AMBRUS 1999 and 2002a). To sum up, 51 mayfly species are known in the area examined (the Őrség and Kerka district). In the Carpathian Basin, Neoemphemera maxima occurs only in the Rába and Oligoneuriella keffermuellerae only in the Rába and the Pinka. Isonychia ignota is known in Hungary only in the Rába. The only locations in Hungary for Baetis niger are also found in this vicinity. The researches so far have demonstrated the continued presence of two endangered mayfly: O. rhenana and Ephoron vir go. In an earlier article, TIBOR KOVÁCS and ANDRÁS AMBRUS (2001b) stated that water quality in the upper Rába above the mouth of the Lapines was poor, and this is confirmed by the occurrence data for Ephemeroptera (and Plecoptera). The Ephemeroptera species count is only 12, while the rare species are absent from the lower Rába and the Lapines. Plecoptera species have not been shown to be present. The Lapines (Lafnitz), along with its Austrian section,

7 and the lower Rába below the mouth of the Lapines constitute a continuous, unitary habitat, which deserves 7 BAUERNFEIND, E., and P. WEICHSELBAUMER 1991. Eintagsfliegen-Nachweise aus Österreich (Insecta, Ephemeroptera). Verhandlungen der zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft Österreich 128:47-66; idem 1994. Neue Eintagsfliegen-Nachweise aus Österreich. Linzer biologische Beiträge 26:365-80; GRAF, W. 1997. A new record of the perlid stonefly Agnetina elegantula (Klapálek, 1905) in Europe. In LANDOLT, P., and M. SARTORI eds. Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera: Biology-Ecology-Systematics, 205-8. Fribourg: Marton + Tinguely & Lâchât SA.