Ádám László: A Bakony természettudományi kutatásának eredményei 28. - A Bakony és a Vértes holyvafaunája (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) (Zirc, 2004)

The rove beetle fauna of the Bakony and the Vértes Mountains

THE ROVE BEETLE FAUNA OF THE BAKONY AND THE VÉRTES MOUNTAINS (COLEOPTERA: STAPHYLINIDAE) Introduction - Approximately 1700 species of rove beetles are known to occur in the Carpathian Basin, and the occurrence of some 1250 species is recorded in Hungary. A total of 588 rove beetle species was collected in the territory of the Bakony and Vértes Mountains; however, the estimated number of species living in these regions is at least about 1000. History of investigation - The first rove beetles collected in the Bakony Mountains are mentioned in Hopffgarten's (1876) and Rédl's (1894) works. Hopffgarten listed 9 species from the surroundings of Nagyvázsony, while Rédl enumerated 12 species from Tapolca. The main work in the 19

th century is Kuthy's (1897) publication. Kuthy mentioned 64 rove beetle species from the Bakony Mountains. Although many collectors visited the study area in the last decade, only a few of their data were published in various papers, e. g. Wachsmann (1907), Székessy (1936, 19436). From the point of view of our project the most important work is Tóth's essays (1968, 1974, 1980, 1982a, 1985, and 1986). Tóth listed altogether 310 species from the territory of the Bakony Mountains. The staphylinid fauna of the Vértes Mountains has scarcely been known. Comprehensive works have not yet been published about this subject. Geographical description - The investigated area includes the westernmost part of the Transdanubian Mountains, namely the hilly countries of the Bakony-vidék and the Vértes-Velencei-hegyvidék (the fauna of the Velencei-hegység is not studied here). Furthermore it covers some adjoining areas, like the northern edge of the Balatoni-medence (basin), and the Somló (hill). These are parts of the Transdanubian Hills and the Little Plain, respectively (Fig. 1). The Bakony and Vértes Mountains consist mainly of sedimentary rocks. Triassic dolomite and limestone dominate most of this region but a few of Silurian clay slate and Permian sandstone, some Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone, Tertiary limestone, gravel, marl and clay, as well as Quaternary basalt can also to be found in various places. Pleistocene sandy and loessy sediments, eluvial deposits, and Holocene alluvial deposits are also widely distributed in the study area. The average height of the Bakony and Vértes Mountains is about 400 and 350 m; their highest peaks rise to 709 and 487 m above the sea level, respectively. Climate - The climate of the investigated area has a continental character, with Atlantic and Mediterranean modifying effects. The yearly average temperature is 9-10 °C, and the annual precipitation is about 600-750 mm. The temperature and precipitation fluctuate between 8.5 and 10.5 °C, 600 and 960 mm, respectively, depending on the altitude and the geographical situation. Vegetation - There are three climatic zones in the study area. The lower regions (from 100 m to 200-250 m) belong to the forested steppe zone or (most part of the Bakonyalja and Bársonyos) to the zone of closed oak forests. This latter one, in general, present from 200-250 m to 350 m above the sea level. The lower regions are heavily influenced by human activities. Plains are cultivated; slopes of the hills are occupied by vineyards, etc, or covered by planted forest stands dominated by non-native trees (like Pinus nigra and Robinia pseudoacacia) in most places. The patches of the original vegetation are restricted to steep slopes, craggy areas, etc. The most common forest as-