L. Forró szerk.: Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 7. 1992 (Budapest, 1992)

Sey, O.; Eöry, K.: Helminth parasites of amphibians of the Lake Balaton area

MISCELLANEA Tom us 7. ZOOLOGICA 1992. HUNGARICA p. 5-8 Helminth parasites of amphibians of the Lake Balaton area by O. Sey and K. Eöry (Received 22 January, 1992) Abstract: Examinations of water bodies of the Lake Balaton area have revealed fourteen species of adults and four species of larval trematodes and a species of Acanthocephala. Of the trematodes three species: Skrjabinoeces breviansa, S. volgensis and Halipegus kessleri were found for the first time in Hungary. Histological changes caused by Brandesia turgida were also described. Keywords: Helminth parasites, amphibians, Lake Balaton, Hungary. Helminth parasites of Hungarian amphibians have been examined from various parts of this country by different authors since the end of the past century (Margó 1879, Pachinger 1888, Edelényi 1942, I960, Sey 1964). These earlier examinations have revealed the major part of the species which were recovered in the course of the present investigations. In the area of Lake Balaton this is the first report on helminth parasites obtained from amphibians. Materials and methods The test material has been collected from two different places. One of them is the western part of Lake Balaton (Bay of Keszthely) and the other is the so-called Kis-Balaton which is the latest remains of a then extended marshy area. These two water bodies have been connected with each other. Of the Rana spp. (Rana ridibunda, R. lessonae and their hybrid R. esadenta) population seventy-three specimens and three specimens of Triturus vulgaris were collected from Kis-Balaton and thirty-nine specimens of Rana spp. were collected from the Bay of Keszthely. Frogs were narcotized and their organs were examined under dissecting microscope. After fixation they were stored in 70 % alcohol and later were stained in carmine and whole mounts were prepared by the usual method. Cysts of Brandesia turgida were embedded in wax and sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Results and discussion The helminth parasites obtained from amphibians of the Lake Balaton area are summarized in Table 1. The major part of the parasites recovered is generally distributed either in Hungary or in other European countries. Three of them (Skrjabinoeces breviansa, S. volgensis, Halipegus kessleri), however, are new locality results. These species and the histological changes caused by Brandesia turgida are described shortly below.