Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 100. (Budapest 2008)

Korsós, Z.: History of the Herpetological Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

(Ablepharus kitaibelii fitzingeri) was said to live on the Szentgyörgy Hill in the Balaton Upland and in the region of Tapolca referring to ÖDÖN TÖMÖSVÁRY's (unpublished) observations (see more by TESCHLER 1884). These places are later referred to many times; but in fact, no specimens have ever been found in these places (HERCZEG et al. 2004). Similarly wrong is the only datum about the Hungarian Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) from Vas county (KORSÓS et al. 2001). Celebrating the 100

th birthday of the National Museum, a book called " The past and future of the National Museum" was compiled, in which the information about the Department of Zoology was summarized by HORVÁTH based on the reports of the curators. MÉHELY (1902) wrote the herpetological part, where he reported 5,066 specimens of 973 species (HORVÁTH 1902). According to the museum's report in 1903 (ANONYMOUS 1904), the herpetological collection increased in this year by 237 reptiles and 131 amphibians, including donations and collections (for example, MÉHELY collected 43 reptiles and 4 amphibians, ERNŐ CSIKI collected 12 reptiles and 13 amphibians), and including the material of LAJOS BÍRÓ (1856-1931), who returned from New Guinea in 1902 (Fig. 18). BÍRÓ collected altogether 942 reptile and 295 amphibian specimens for the museum during six and a half years in New Guinea. In this time, MÉHELY not only managed the herpetological collection, but the mammal and fish collections were also assigned to him (birds were managed by GYULA MADARÁSZ). Out of the 237 reptiles recieved in the year 1903, 38 were gifts (mainly from GYÖRGY KLEINKAUF from Sumatra), 121 were collections (MÉHELY, CSÍKI, and LAJOS BÍRÓ from Tunisia: 66 specimens) and 78 were purchased. Out of the 131 amphibians 95 were gifts (DÁNIEL ANISITS from Paraguay: 84 specimens, KLEINKAUF from Sumatra: 8 specimens), 21 were collected and 15 bought. In addition to the study of the herpetofauna of the Carpathian Basin and the territory of Hungary in that time, MÉHELY put great effort into processing the exotic material collected by his colleagues in different parts of the world. From almost everything he touched he managed to produce longlasting scientific results. Not only his species descriptions, but also his evolutionary thoughts about the systematic relationships and on the development of the different taxa are still valid (or revalidated) today. Thus, he wrote remarkable papers on the herpetofauna of Ceylon, New Guinea, Central Asia, and Paraguay (MÉHELY 1897^, b, 1898, 1901^, b, 1904). There is a valuable "add-on" literature item which gives a glimpse into MÉHELY'S period kept in the Herpetological Collection under the mark J.

27. It is a little, handwritten booklet, the work of GÁBOR SZALAY - it is not known who he was, maybe a student of MÉHELY? - its title being "Notes on snakes - According to Brehm's book » The World ofAnimals« and to the corrections given to it by dr. Lajos Méhely, and to dr. Lajos Méhely

's presentation about vipers held at the Hungarian National Museum on 18. Nov. 1911. - Assembled by Gábor Szalay (in 1906 and 1911)". It should be noted that the editor of the first Hungarian edition of BREHM'S "World of Animals" (consisting of 10 volumes) was also MÉHELY (1906). SZALAY's neatly bound, 142-page booklet gives an overview of snakes, of Hungarian and foreign species (with an exceptional detail on the county Sáros (Northeast Hungary); so it is supposed that this was the birthplace of SZALAY) with hand-drawn pencil