Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)
Phylum Vertebrata lib GRESCHNIK (1924), to which we return later. In other publications, he gives information on the distribution and lifestyle of southern birch mice (Sicista subtilis —VÁSÁRHELYI 1929) and the life of western polecats (Mustela putorius — VÁSÁRHELYI 1941b). Data on the rodent fauna of Fertő also appears in KORNÉL CHYZER (1881). Several articles refer to 'marsh wolves' (Canis lupus) and golden jackals (C. aureus) occurring in the reed beds of the lake (NAGY 1956; SZUNYOGHY 1957). GYULA ÉHIK (1941) cites a monograph by OTTO WETTSTEIN (1926) for stating that water voles (Arvicola terrestris) and harvest mice (Micromys minutus) occur in the Fertő district. GÁBOR TÓTH (1992) gives an account of the small-mammal fauna of Csorna. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is an immigrant, which has spread rapidly in the North-West of the country (ÁLLÁNYI 1941; ÉHIK 1926; JABLONOWSKI 1927; KIRÁLY 1932; PANKA 1941; VARGA 1931c; VÁSÁRHELYI 1943). 119 Its spread and life history in the Sopron district were described by LAJOS VARGA and FERENC MIKA (1937b), while SÁNDOR AKÁCOS (1973) covered the Fertő stock four decades later. The species was also mentioned by ISTVÁN SZABÓ (1966) as the host of the flea Hystrichopsylla talpae orientális. The same article examines the distribution of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). OTTÓ SEY (1965a, 1965b and 1967) covered the worms parasitic on muskrats, after dissecting about 400 specimens from Fertő and the Hanság. It was realized from examinations of owl casts that root voles (Microtus oeconomus) also appear on the Hungarian side of Fertő. LÁSZLÓ SZÖRÉNYI found remains of ten root-vole specimens when examining 250 owl pellets from the Fertő district. On November 22, 1979, he found a recently perished specimen at Fertőújlak on the bank of the Csempész Canal, followed by another on July 18, 1980. Bearing in mind the isolation and separation of the locations in the Carpathian Basin (including those round Fertő), it seems clear that all the occurrences in Hungary have been of the subspecies M. oeconomus mehelyi (TOPÁL 1963; SZÖRÉNYI 1987b; see also PAPP et al. 2000.) ISTVÁN MATSKÁSI and his associates (MATSKÁSI et al. 1992) trapped several specimens in the Sopron (Kis-tómalom), Fertőújlak, Fertőboz and Hanság (Lake Fehér and Barbacs Pond) districts when examining the fauna parasitic on the species. Further confirmation of its presence round Fertő came from the remains of several specimens found in casts of short-eared owls (Asio flammeus —JÁNOSKA 1992) and from later collections (GUBÁNYI et al. 2002b). The root vole is the rarest vole species in Hungary and considered a glacial relict. Populations have remained in only five territories in the Fertő-Hanság National Park. M. oeconomus is a characteristic dominant species of the small mammal community detected in the area, whose distribution shows that the background variables influ-encing spatial distribution and 119 The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), indigenous to North America, was introduced in 1905 to the Dobris estate in Bohemia. Adaptability and rapid proliferation allowed muskrats to spread all over the province and into other parts of Europe. The first specimen was caught in Hungary at Németjárfalu, Moson County, in 1914. The species has become abundant in Hungary, although some decrease has been noticed in the Fertő stocks, for instance.
