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

Phylum Vertebrata 163 Sopron district and Lake Fertő (Neusiedler See) Sopron-born JÁNOS GYÖRGY KRAMER, in his work Elenchusa.

.. (KRAMER 1756), listed 3 8 species of fish in the waters of Lower Austria and cited 14 new occurrences in the River Lajta (Leitha), which then formed the border between Hungary and Austria. Important among them were the European mudminnow (Umbra krameri, named after him) and 'Rex cyprinorum (common carp). LEOPOLD JOSEPH FITZINGER (1832), in an account of the vertebrate fauna of Austria, mentioned 12 fish species in the Lajta and 3 in Lake Fertő, where apart from U. krameri, he found Cyprinus carpio var. lacustris, now known as Cyprinus carpio m. hungaricus. The study on fishes of the Hungarian kingdom by JÁNOS REISINGER (1830) deals mainly with freshwater species, but mentions some species found in the brackish Fertő. Fertő was among the places visited by JACOB HECKEL, the greatest ichthyologist of his time. Several specimens were described as by him new species, including a variety of Cyprinus carpio as С hungaricus, and C. acuminatus, a stunted form of Abramis brama, as A. vetula.

13 In 1847, he delivered a lecture in Sopron entitled 'A review of Hungary's fish', later published in a translation by KORNÉL CHYZER (HECKEL 1863).

12 However, the publication contains no records for the Rába or Zala. JACOB HECKEL and RUDOLF KNER published in Leipzig in 1858 their work Die Süsswasserfische der Österreichischen Monarchie, much of which was based on Hungarian study trips and examinations made by the former (HECKEL and KNER 1858). JÁNOS KREISCH prepared a competition entry entitled Hungary's Fishes and Breeding of them at the invitation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, for which he was awarded a József Vitéz Bursary. The work was then published in Pest (KREISCH 1868). The author mentions the occurrence of some common fish species in Fertő and in the Lajta. SALAMON JÁNOS PETÉNYI worked for more than 20 years on a work on Hungarian ichthyofauna. He collected especially in the upper regions of the country, but also visited the Fertő district. His vast work was left to posterity in manuscript. Several shorter writings of REZSŐ KOHAUT (1900-1902) contain information about the fishes of Hungary, including some examples from Fertő. Also worth mentioning for the same reason is the study by BÉLA HANKÓ (1931) of the origin and distribution of Hungarian fish. OTTO HAEMPEL (1926 and 1929) devoted two articles to Fertő fish and fishing. OTTÓ HERMAN (1887) listed 16 fish species from the lake. FERENC MIKA and GYÖRGY BREUER (1928) made this comment in a summarizing study: This list corresponds with the actual situation today. All the fish species mentioned by [HERMAN] except weis still occur regular12 OTTÓ HERMAN (1887) later commented, 'The translation is scarcely rivalled for systematic linguistic despoliation.' 13 All three taxa were reduced when examined by SEIBOLD to varieties or deformed specimens, instead of new species: SEIBOLD, C.J.E. 1863. Die Süsswasserfische von Mitteleuropa. Leipzig.