Terrestrial Molluscs in the Dry Grasslands of the DNIPRO Upland (Central Ukraine): New Records, Rare Species and Conservation Potential

Abstract

Thirty-six species of terrestrial molluscs were found in the dry grasslands and rock outcrops of the study area, including three that were not previously known for Central Ukraine: Granaria frumentum, Pupilla bigranata and Mediterranea inopinata. These species are relics related to dry open habitats and require conservation in Ukraine on the national level, G. frumentum is already listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, and the other two should be listed in its next edition. It is proposed to create the new protected areas in the most important newly revealed locations of these species. These rocky areas also retain the high diversity of land molluscs in the region. The invasive snail Xeropicta derbentina was found for the first time on the DNIPRO Upland, on the edge of natural dry grassland. The rare native snail Morlina glabra was recorded for the first time in Kyiv Region, it is proposed to be included into the regional red list.

Land snails <i>Brephulopsis cylindrica </i>and <i>Xeropicta derbentina </i>(Gastropoda: Stylommatophora): case study of invasive species distribution modelling

“…It is a flat terrain, inhabited by xerophilous and xero-mesophilic snail species. The terrestrial mollusc fauna of the steppe has been described in detail for Ukraine [Balashov, 2016;Balashov, Krivohizhaya, 2015;Balashov et al, 2013;Balashov et al, 2018a;Balashov et al, 2018b;Gural-Sverlova, 2018]. The most widespread native snail species of this region are Chondrula tridens (Müller, 1774), Helicopsis sp and Pupilla sp.…”

“…Actual localities, i.e., places where X. derbentina and B. cylindrica had been reported, came from three sources: field collection data of the authors (29 sites for X. derbentina and 23 for B. cylindrica), published records (59 and 45 sites) [Balashov, Baidashnikov 2012;Balashov et al, 2018a;Balashov et al, 2018b;Rabchuk, Zemoglyadchuk 2011;Gural-Sverlova, Gural 2007;Vitchalkovskaya 2008;Kramarenko, Sverlova 2001;Gural-Sverlova, Gural 2017;Gural-Sverlova et al, 2018;Kramarenko, Dovgal 2014;Kovalenko 2019;Zhukov et al, 2019;], and data in the GBIF database that also include iNaturalist data (gbif.org) (62 and 83 sites); all localities are shown in Fig. 1, with data in Supplementary Material Tables 1-4.…”

“…The species have successfully adapted to their new habitats and formed established populations [Aubry et al, 2005;Kiss et al, 2005]. During the last decade, many new records of X. derbentina across Ukraine, including western Transcarpathia, were published [Gural-Sverlova, Gural, 2017;Balashov et al, 2018b]. Since 2014, a population of this species has been known in southwestern Russia [Adamova et al, 2019].…”

“…Around this time, B. cylindrica was also found to be invasive [Snegin et al, 2017]. The native range of B. cylindrica is the Crimean Peninsula, but in recent decades, it has become established across the northern Black Sea region and the steppe region of Ukraine [Kramarenko, Sverlova, 2001;Vitchalkovskaya, 2008;Zhukov et al, 2019;Balashov et al, 2018b]. In addition, one occurrence of B. cylindrica has been confirmed in Belarus, which is currently the westernmost point that this species has reached [Rabchuk, Zemoglyadchuk, 2011].…”

Morphometry of the digestive glands of terrestrial mollusk Cornu aspersum (Gastropoda, Helicidae)

“…The terrestrial mollusks are represented in Ukraine by a significant number of species (Gural-Sverlova & Gural, 2012;Balashov, 2016). Studies of this group are multidirectional, considering the gastropods as objects of a certain ecosystem (eco-faunistical research, Guiller & Madec, 2010;Balashov, 2012;Balashov et al, 2018), as of anthropogenic pollution levels in the environment (Berger & Dallinger, 1993;Regoli et al, 2006), and as food. Morphologists are mostly interested in their digestive glands of all organ systems, because it is the heaviest part of the gastropods' visceral mass (Barker, 2001), and it is also an organ with complex digestion processes (Bogucki & Helczyk-Kazecka, 1977;Czarnoleski et al, 2008).…”