S. Mahunka szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 54. (Budapest, 1993)

Zoogeographical notes Somewhat more than 50% of our fauna belong to the cosmopolitan, Holarctic or Palaearctic elements. Their presence here is irrelevant, partly being ancient elements, and even they infiltrated comparatively more recently, the direction of their immigration is insignificant. Several animal groups however in the fauna of the Carpathian Basin display a rather restricted character, meaning that some show the northernmost, easternmost, southernmost or westernmost limits of their distribution. This rather peculiar characteristic demands special attention (e.g. we must deal with the frequency of the marginal population having disjoint distribution especially from nature conservation point of view, since carrying special gene pool obviously are of great significance). But perhaps the most important thing is that extraordinarily valuable data may be gained in explaining our faunal genesis. Species having their northernmost or westernmost limit of distribution have the greatest significance, less so the easternmost. Since logically it may be rendered probable that the smaller propotion of the present fauna not belonging to the cosmopolitan or Holarctic elements immigrated here from these directions pushing back the fauna of the glacial period. It is almost certain that this spread must have taken place in the postglacial area, somewhere on the borderline of the Pleistocene and the Holocene, in other words, it must have started some 15.000 year ago and practically it is still on the move today. In coming to the thorough examination of the „Transylvania route", presently I do not wish to deal with those fauna elements which have the southernmost and easternmost limit of distribution, rather with those belonging to the other two groups. The species which have their westernmost limit of distribution in the Carpathian Basin may well be explained by the common supposition that westernmost limit of the zonal forest-steppe region is also in here. Thus, the steppe elements of our home fauna most probably reached the Pannonian Basin in the last glacial period or directly after through the Eastern Carpathians. These elements even today play significant role in our home fauna. However, this character may not, or only poorly justifiable in the case of soil mite (Oribatida) fauna. Tough there are some species, e.g. Platynothrus grandjeani Sitnikova, 1975, Psammogalutnna hungarica (Sellnick, 1925), or perhaps Tectoribates ornaius (Schuster, 1958), which, though questionably, may be listed under this category, still the significant majority of the Oribatida comprising our fauna cannot be. Species spreading from the south toward the north (ancient times: Hasel-age, Beech-age) are of paramount importance. In examining the available faunistical data we find important references from J. Balogh from the years of the 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s in the environs of Bade Herculeane (Herkulesfiirdo) which clearly demonstrate a strong influx of Mediterranean elements from the south. Such species is Dolicheremaeusdorni (Balogh, 1937) which belongs to a truly tropical (subtropical) family (Otocepheidae Balogh, 1961), being the single representative in the Mediterranean region of the Palaearactic, occurring in South France, Spain and Greece. Further species are Carabodes hungaricus (Balogh, 1943) known also from here and in Italy, the species Collohmannia gigantea Sellnick, 1922 which beside Transylvania is also known from South Austria, Greece and the Caucasus. Somewhat later Balogh (1943) again published data from the higher altitude of the Coloman Mts. (Kelemenhegység), species like Niphocepheus nivalis (Schweizer, 1922), Metrioppia helvetica Grandjean, 1931, Unduloribates undulatus (Berlese, 1914) similarly come from the mountainous regions of South Europe, from the southern parts of the Soviet Union as well as from Transylvania. Some works of Feider and Suciu (e. g. 1957) and Calugar and Vasiliu (e. g. 1984) discussing species from Transylvania also refer to connections with the Mediterranean region. I started to pay more attention to these connections when simultaneously with Calugar and Vasiliu (Epilohmannia schusteri Calugar et Vasiliu, 1976) I described a representative