The wing phalanges (Phalanx proximalis digiti majoris) of European Accipitriformes and Falconiformes

The authors compared the first phalanx of the second wing finger of 33 European diurnal raptors. The importance of studying this bone lies in the fact that, although it has diagnosable characteristics, it was practically neglected by osteologists and paleontologists. Thus, fossil materials can be identified through them, as well as those from owl pellets. The comparison was made possible by the comparative avian skeleton collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. In a preliminary investigation we examined the morphological diversity of the first phalanx of the second wing finger among the different species. We used principal component (PC) analyses on measurements. The PC described the curvature of the anterior surface of the bone and the relative size of the distal and proximal epiphyses. The principal component analysis showed slightly overlapping in shape between the taxons but the accipitriform and falconiform birds diverged in the morphospace. The attributes and geometry of the first phalanx of the second wing finger reflects more on taxonomic background than flying behaviour. The avian wing is a complex and highly modulable structure, therefore, probably body mass and size affect flying performance than the other morphological features of this bone. The text is supplemented by 6 figures and one size table.

The wing phalanges (phalanx proximalis digiti majoris) of Gaviiformes, Podicipediformes, Pelecaniformes, Ardeiformes, Anseriformes, Gruiformes, Ralliformes, Charadriiformes and Galliformes

The authors compared the first phalanx of the second wing-finger of 93 species belong to 9 order (Gaviiformes – 2 species, Podicipediformes – 4 species, Pelecaniformes – 4 species, Ardeiformes – 12 species, Anseriformes – 27 species, Gruiformes – 4 species, Ralliformes – 6 species, Charadriiformes – 25 species and Galliformes – 9 species). The importance of studying this bone lies in the fact that, although it has diagnosable characteristics, it was practically neglected by osteologists and paleontologists. Thus, fossil materials can be identified through them, as well as those from owl pellets. The comparison was made possible by the comparative avian skeleton collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. The text is supplemented by 10 figures and 1 table.

Korok és Kórok kiállítás 2019-2020

The HNM Semmelweis Museum of Medical History's exhibition „Diseases for the Ages, What the Deceased Tell Us”, is displaying the anthropological collection of the Museum which never was presented earlier, and the mummy-research made in the framework of the Nephthys Project, with some additional material from the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Hopp Ferenc Asian Art Museum. Visitors can learn about the appearance of known and little-known diseases visible on archaeological human remains and gain insight into the know-how and the results of the mummy research. The exhibition is accompanied by a museum educational program and a series of lectures.

Tracking disappeared species III. Occurrence of Coleophora absinthii Wocke, 1877 in Hungary (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae)

Coleophora absinthii Wocke, 1877 is represented in the Hungarian Natural History Museum by only one voucher specimen from Hungary. The species was collected for the first time in 1952 from Hungary but, in spite of several publications reporting it as a frequent species, no specimen of C. absinthii has been deposited in the museum since its first record. We found the species between 2018 and 2020 in six new Hungarian localities. The tubular case, the case made of flowers, the adult, the genitalia and the distribution map of the species are presented.

Studies on the genus Ripersiella Tinsley (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Rhizoecidae) in the Neotropical region, with description of a new species

The Neotropical scale insect genus Ripersiella Tinsley (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Rhizoecidae) was investigated, based on soil samples deposited at the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Description and illustration of a new species, Ripersiella incarum Kaydan & Szita sp. n., and an identification key and new additional locality records for the currently known Ripersiella species in the Neotropical region, are provided and discussed.

Salticidae (Arachnida, Araneae) of Thailand: new species and records of Epeus Peckham & Peckham, 1886 and Ptocasius Simon, 1885

The study is based on new material from the collections of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden (RNHM) and the Hungarian Natural History Museum (HNHM) and addresses issues in two genera: Epeus Peckham & Peckham, 1886 and Ptocasius Simon, 1885 from Thailand. Both genera are of Asian/Indomalayan origin, the latter with a diversity hotspot in the subtropical valleys of the Himalayas. Based on morphological data, we propose three new species of Epeus (Epeus daiqini sp. nov. (♂♀), Epeus pallidus sp. nov. (♀), Epeus szirakii sp. nov. (♀)) and two new species of Ptacasius (Ptocasius metzneri sp. nov. (♂♀) and Ptocasius sakaerat sp. nov. (♀)). Additionally, we redescribed E. tener (Simon, 1877) and added photographs of morphological characters. The genus Ptocasius is redefined due to the inclusion of 37 species, previously included in Yaginumaella Prószyński, 1979. Relationships and distribution of both genera are discussed in reference to molecular, morphological and distributional data, published by other authors in recent years.

Leucapamea srnkai sp. n., a new Apameini species from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae)

The genus Leucapamea was erected by Sugi (1982). The most recent revision of the genus was provided by Zilli et al. (2009), and include descriptions of five new species. Leucapamea species are diagnosed by the whitish ground colour of forewings and the very long, sword-like superior saccular process. Leucapamea is distinguished from the related genus Lateroligia Zilli, Fibiger & Ronkay, 2005 by the triangular cucullus having only a slight ventral extremity and the presence of the strong cornutus in the vesica. Thirteen species of Leucapamea have been described (Zilli et al. 2009), four of which are endemic to Taiwan, two to Japan, and the other species distributed from the northern Pacific to Southern China and Vietnam. Following research in Sichuan during the last years, an additional species is described and diagnosed here.Abbreviations for personal and institutional collections used herein are as follows: AFM = Alessandro Floriani (Milan, Italy); ASV = Aidas Saldaitis (Vilnius, Lithuania); HNHM = Hungarian Natural History Museum (Budapest, Hungary); PGM = collection of Péter Gyulai (Miskolc, Hungary); GYP = genitalia slide of P. Gyulai; RL = genitalia slide of L. Ronkay.

Egy Felső-Tisza-vidéki, rangos, honfoglaló férfi szobrászi arcrekonstrukciója a tuzséri temetőből

The mature age individual excavated from the Tomb 6 of Tuzsér-Boszorkány-hegy cemetery, was a member of the prestigious Hungarian conquering communities in the Upper Tisza region. He was a taxonomically mixed European and Mongolian type. On the top of his predominantly Europid Pamirian skull, two symbolic trepanations were also visible. His paternal genetic line links him to the “Yakut subgroup”, within it was classified in the Turkic-conquering cluster, whose origin dates back to the Asian Hun era. The facial reconstruction of the Tuzsér conqueror was done at the Hungarian Natural History Museum on a 3D plastic skull copy of the original skull. Using the sculptural anatomical method the thickness of the soft parts of the face was estimated based on a scientific data table. Each detail of the face was shaped according to the morphological correlations of the skull bones and soft tissues. The reconstructed facial features have a predominantly Europid appearance, but also faithfully reflect the mixed, Europid and Mongolian characteristics of the skull.

First record of Phyllocnistis citrella in Hungary, a micromoth species pest on Citrus (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)

Several larvae of Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton, 1856 were found mining in lemon leaves in Kistarcsa, Central Hungary. Seven specimens emerged in August 2020. They are deposited as vouchers in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. These are the first records of the species occurring in Hungary. With 3 figures.