Tandonia kusceri (H. Wagner) is a terrestrial slug native to the Balkan Peninsula (S. Serbia, N. Macedonia, Bulgaria and Dobrudja region of Romania) and the European part of Turkey. In Serbia, it was known mostly from the southern regions. The northernmost locality (Palić settlement, near Subotica) reported here suggests that the slug’s distribution is nearly continuous from its native range until Slovakia. The new record was first recognised from the pictures posted on a Facebook group for insect identification in 2021. The identification was subsequently confirmed by anatomical examination. This further emphasises the importance of social media in monitoring the spread of invasive invertebrates.
Xeropicta Monterosato is a pulmonate xerophilous snail genus of the family Geomitridae. It is distributed in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea region and also in Asia Minor, Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Iran. No species of this genus was known from Serbia until now. Here, we present the first record of Xeropicta from Serbia. Morphological, anatomical and ecological characteristics of the species as well as its variation are discussed. Because of the wide shell variation, the analysed specimens were identified based on anatomy, and correspond to X. krynickii. However, in their shell morphology, some specimens resemble X. derbentina. Therefore, here they are treated as X. cf. krynickii. Further studies should shed more light on their identity.
We present a checklist of 86 valid freshwater mollusc species of Serbia (65 gastropods and 21 bivalves) belonging to 19 families (15 gastropods and four bivalves). The list is based on our latest research and includes data from published sources and personal communications. The most diverse family among gastropods is Planorbidae (16 species), while Sphaeriidae are most diverse within the bivalves (10 species). Ten species are local endemics (all of them gastropods), while eight are introduced species (three gastropods and five bivalves). The Danube River and its smaller tributaries harbour the most diverse gastropod community, with a total of 61 species (41 gastropods and 20 bivalves). The snail Theodoxus transversalis (Pfeiffer, 1828) and the bivalve Unio crassus Philipson, 1788 are listed as EN (endangered) on the global (IUCN) level, while the snail Plagigeyeria gladilini Kuščer, 1937 and the bivalves Pseudanodonta complanata (Rossmässler, 1835) and Sphaerium rivicola (Lamarck, 1818) are considered as VU (vulnerable) species. Of those IUCN taxa, only U. crassus is listed as protected on the national level (along with 12 mostly local endemic gastropod species). In comparison with the previous checklist of gastropods by Karaman & Karaman (2007), a total of seven species are added here: Belgrandiella serbica Glöer 2008, Bythinella istoka Glöer & Pešić 2014, B. nonveilleri Glöer 2008, B. pesterica Glöer 2008, Acroloxus lacustris (Linnaeus, 1758), Melanoides tuberculata (O.F. Müller, 1774) and Armiger crista (Linnaeus, 1758). In view of global and regional trends in taxonomy, ecology and invasive biology, an even richer diversity of the Serbian freshwater malocofauna can be expected.
In this paper, the Serbian endemic spring snail Belgrandiella serbica Glöer, 2008 which was described from a small spring in Rsovci village (SE Serbia) and known only from the type locality, is synonymised with Grossuana codreanui (Grossu, 1946) based on similarities in shell morphology and morphology of the penis.
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