Állattani Közlemények

The effect of ivermectin as an antihelminthic drug on the feeding acti-vity and growth of common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) (Crus-tacea: Isopoda)

2025-09-08T12:16:33+00:00

The effective control of parasites in farm animals is an essential aspect of agricultural practice. Nevertheless, little is known about the effects of the pesticides involved on non-target soil organisms, such as macrodecomposer isopods. In this study, we examined the impact of consuming leaves contaminated with ivermectin on body weight gain in the common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber). Within the tested concentration range (1, 10, 100, and 500 μg/L of pure ivermectin), significant decreases in body weight and faecal output were observed only at the highest concentration tested (500 μg/L) compared to the control.

The decomposition of organic matter is one of the most critical ecosystem services provided by soil. Consequently, damage to the organisms involved in this process can have serious ecological consequences. The environmentally realistic levels of ivermectin are close to the two lowest doses we tested (1 and 10 μg/L), which did not show significant adverse effects on growth or faecal output.

In conclusion, our results suggest that ivermectin, at concentrations likely to occur in the environment, does not pose a significant threat to the feeding activity or development of isopods.

Relationship between body length and habitat in aquatic bugs (Heterop-tera: Nepomorpha)

2025-09-15T06:47:27+00:00

Body size is one of the most important characteristics of insects, as many physiological, life-history and ecological traits are strongly correlated with it. Conversely, body measurements can be used to deduce the nature and size of these characteristics. There is a large amount of data available on the body length of aquatic bugs (Nepomorpha). The question emerged if there is any correlation between body length and the habitat of the species? It was found that species from the littoral zone have significantly longer body lengths than species from five other habitats (benthic, pelagic, nektonic, riparian, riffle). Moreover, species in benthic habitats are significantly smaller than those in other habitats. The pattern is clear, but the triggers are diverse. Since relatively little information is available on the ecology of aquatic bugs, the explanation of the pattern is at present mainly speculative.

Oniscidea bibliography 1998–2025

2025-11-14T11:03:25+00:00

László Forró and Sándor Farkas first published a list of 73 items in their paper “Checklist, preliminary distribution maps, and bibliography of woodlice in Hungary (Isopoda: Oniscidea)” in 1998 (in the 12th volume of Miscellania Zoologica Hungarica), which summarized the publications dealing with the research of terrestrial woodlice (Isopoda, Oniscidea) in Hungary. The past 27 years have meant a more intensive research period on the topic, so it seemed worthwhile to collect and publish the articles published since then (94 new items). Thus, these two publications together can be an important source of literature and a starting point for further work.

History of research on the Hungarian Oniscidea (Isopoda) and assess-ment of the fauna

2025-11-14T11:03:25+00:00

The first data on the composition of the fauna of terrestrial woodlice fauna and on the distribution of species in Hungary are from 1794 and then from 1926. After the initial taxonomic, faunistic and anatomical works, production biology data were published in the 1960s, and then ecological and ecotoxicological works appeared from the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to the earlier ones, in the 21st century, results related to the functional role of the group, its practical applicability, and then behavioral and evolutionary biology research came to the fore in research. The country's area is very unevenly populated with species, with most of our data comes from the Transdanubian region. The current number of known species is 60, which can be divided into different types zoogeographically. The most common species ('big five'): Armadillidium vulgare, Hyloniscus riparius, Porcellium collicola, Trachelipus rathkii, Protracheoniscus politus. The rarest are the habitat specialist species with a narrow distribution, living in near-natural ecosystems. The basic fauna consists of European and cosmopolitan species with a wide ecological tolerance, while the endemic and rare species include Alpine, Illyrian, Balkan, Carpathian fauna elements, as well as introduced species mainly of tropical and Mediterranean origin. Our endemic species, Haplophthalmus hungaricus, was found in the north-eastern part of the country, while the special, endogeic Mesoniscus graniger is a member of the troglofauna, which was first described from the Baradla cave system. The species can also be grouped according to habitat type, altitude, and the degree of disturbance of the habitat, i.e. its naturalness, and based on this, both the species and their habitats can be classified.

Second Hungarian Zootaxonomy Conference

2025-11-18T19:28:55+00:00

Második alkalommal kerül megrendezésre a Magyar Zootaxonómiai Konferencia. Az első év sikere után az előadások/poszterek száma jelentősen megnőtt (2024: 35; 2025: 55), örvendetesen sok fiatal jelentkezővel. Így a Konferencia időtartama is két napra bővült. Emellett a rendezvény a „nemzetköziesedés” irányában is elindulni látszik. Ezt bizonyítja, hogy számos külföldi társszerző mellett a plenáris előadók nemzetközileg elismert külföldi kutatók, és támogatók között is globálisan működő, rangos folyóirat is megjelent (Zookeys/PENSOFT Kiadó - https://tinyurl.hu/Z8GA) köszönhetően a szervezők munkájának, kapcsolatainak, nemzetközi hírének (a szerk.).

Az I. Konferencia absztraktjai elérhetőek: DOI: 10.20331/ AllKoz.2024.109.1-2.7

A rendezvény részletei megtalálhatóak az Állatorvostudományi Egyetem honlapján: https://univet.hu/hu/zootaxo2025/

TURÓCI ÁGNES & PÁLL-GERGELY BARNA: Magyarország meztelencsigái. Agrártudományi Kutatóközpont, Martonvásár. 2025. 288 oldal.

2025-06-10T07:53:29+00:00

A meztelencsigák sosem tartoztak a malakológusok kedvencei közé, hiszen nincs fiolába vagy dobozba helyezhető, mutatós héjuk, alkoholban eltéve sem igazán esztétikusak. Meghatározásuk nem mindig lehetséges puszta ránézésre, gyűjtés közben ezért gyakran figyelmen kívül hagyják őket. Az sem növeli népszerűségüket, hogy az ember szempontjából hasznot nemigen hoznak, s egyes fajok leginkább a kertészetekben okozott kártételük miatt válnak nevezetessé vagy hírhedtté. TURÓCI és PÁLL-GERGELY könyve azonban remélhetőleg változtat ezen a szemléleten és minden eddigi magyar nyelvű műnél közelebb visz bennünket ehhez a rendszertanilag, faunisztikailag és ökológiailag is izgalmas állatcsoporthoz.