Dr. Murai Éva - Gubányi András szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 31. (Budapest, 1998)

to the Parasitological Collection of the Zoological Department. At that department, which was being reorganised at the time, she was entrusted with the task of establishing the Cestoda-Acanthocephala collection and participating in the faunistic and taxonomic processing of cestodes. At that time no cestode collection existed in Hungary, and previous research concerned with that class of parasites had also been very scanty. Taking no notice of the difficulties, Éva Murai got down to work with great dynamism and enthusiasm. As member of the parasitology team led by István Szabó, she spent as many as 30-40 days in the field every year. She collected thousands of host animals and performed their parasitological dissection. Today the cestode collection of the Zoological Department is one of the most valuable and best managed materials available in Europe. During a study-tour to Switzerland, Éva Murai learned the methods of scientific research on cestodes under the guidance of the eminent parasitologist Jean G. Baer, Professor of Zoology at the University of Neuchâtel. As a result of her industrious work, she could join the international community of cestode researchers. On numerous occasions she published the results of her morphological and taxonomic studies as a member of international research teams. The life-work of Dr. Éva Murai focused primarily on Taeniidae, Hymenolepididae, Anoplocephalidae and Dilepididae parasites of small mammals, carnivores and birds, but she has done work on fish-parasitic cestodes, too. In addition to exploring the Hungarian fauna, she has regularly participated in processing materials collected in other countries. She has described 20 new taxa and the number of her publications exceeds 70. Dr. Éva Murai's outstanding science organiser's activity is well illustrated by her work done in editing the journal Parasitology Hungarica. The first issue of the journal came out in 1968 as a joint publication of the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Hungarian Society of Parasitologists. Dr. Tibor Kassai became Editor-in-Chief of the journal while Dr. Éva Murai acted as co-worker of the Editor-in-Chief. From volume 11 to volume 26 Dr. Éva Murai edited the journal on her own. Since volume 26, András Gubányi has worked together with her as co-editor. The 30

th volume of the journal was published in 1997. For Dr. Éva Murai, editorial work represented a continuous service: maintaining close links with the Hungarian and foreign authors, doing manual work in the technical execution, organising ingenious campaigns to raise the funds necessary for publication. She is also a founding editor of another journal of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica. Since 1982, togetherwith László Forró she has acted as co-editor of the 10 volumes published so far. Éva Murai retired at the end of 1990, after 42 years of service; however, she did not lose touch with scientific research and the Museum. As a part-time chief museologist, she continues to work with undiminished energy and enthusiasm. In November 1995, while working on a nearly finished paper in her home at night, she felt that her left hand could not strike the keys on her keyboard. She could still save the text and switch off her computer, but then her left side became paralysed as a result of a stroke. Her locomotor rehabilitation was continuous, and she did not give up her intellectual activities even during her illness. She continued reviewing manuscripts and reading the proofs of papers submitted to the journal already during her stay at the hospital. Returning home, she resumed her microscopic work. In the subsequent year she suffered further terrible blows: after 46 years of marriage she lost her husband, István Kovács zoologist and museologist, former staff member and - for a long time - Deputy Director-General of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. It was also