Boros István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 3. (Budapest 1953)

Szunyoghy, J.: The harvest mouse in Hungary, I

Now, if we dismiss those sentences of this miraculous complex which refer only to the harvest mouse, discounting all the others or regarding them as such unessential which, as Horváth says, do not shake our assumptions, nothing whatever remains but the priority of the name hungaricus. . On the ground of above discussion Í cannot believe that Horváth was right when he thought to have fixed the priority of Föld i's name, hungaricus. A description, which may refer simultaneously to four animals (shrew, harvest mouse, common field mouse, and Mus spicilegus) cannot be adequate for, and cannot serve to judge by, priority problems in nomenclature. The subspecies name of Földi, hungaricus, must be deleted to use pratensis Oeskay instead. The name of the author, by the way, describing the harvest mouse was set consequently as Ockskay, a typographic error, instead of the right Ocskay. This former incorrect name is still in use in literature. O c s k ay's description of Mus pratensis is in accordance with the scientific claims of his time. Í take it almost for granted therefore that Horváth did not know this original description, otherwise he should not have given priority to the superficial, defective, and incorrect characterization of F Ö 1 d i. The synonimy of the Hungarian harvest mouse is the following : 1831. Mus pratensis Ocskay (erroneously Ockskay), Nova Acta Phys. Med. Acad. Caes. Leop. Carol. Nat. Cur. 15, 2. p. 243, tab. 68. 1882. Mus arundinaceus Petényi, Természetrajzi Füzetek, 5, p. 142. 1900. Mus minutus pratensis Barret-Hamilton, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5, p. 530. 1902. Mus minutus Pall., Méhely : Az állatok világa (Emlősök), II, p. 509. 1910. Mus (Apodemus) minutus pratensis Trouessart, Faune Mamm. d. Europe, p. 157. 1912. Micromys minutus pratensis Miller : Cat. Mamm. West. Eur. p. 846. The Nest of the Harvest Mouse A peculiar characteristic of the harvest mouse is its nest. This construction, of the dimensions of a goose egg, swaying on fragile grasses, sedge, and reef stalks, is unique among the nests of mammals, regarding both its construction and location. Going over literature I have found that the building and construction of the nest of the harvest mouse is not clear as yet. During collecting trips, therefore, as far as opportunities allowed it, Í paid strict attention to the building activities of the harvest mouse. Unfortunately, though by no fault of mine, I had not been able to make original snapshots in the field. The pictures of the nests in the Table were all made in the laboratory though they illustrate rather well the construction of the nest and the quantity of vegetable material used in its building. The data of literature informed us so far that the harvest mouse, during the building of its nest, shreds to fine filaments the tips of the leaves with its teeth, and then weaves these frayed leaf tips together into a nest, padding it with some soft vegetable material. This, however, is only partly true. The harvest mouse does shred and weave together the leaves of the plants supporting its nest, but he builds only the loose external case of the nest in this way (cf. figs. 3., 6., 7.). . Inside this outern wrapping there is a more compact inner part which is made not of the shredded leaves of the nest-supporting plants but usually of other plants. This internal core of the nest must be, brought together by single bits in the mouth of the mouse with exceedingly tiresome labour, into the previously made external frame. The hollow of the nest is bedded into this inner core, padded soft with various vegetable materials. The nest itself is covered. Externally, the opening entrance may usually, but not always, be seen.