About Tandonia kusceri (H.Wagner, 1931)
For identification: Like all members of the Milacidae family, Tandonia kusceri has a long keel that extends all the way up to the mantle. Its body is pale pinkish brown, and usually marked with small black spots. This appearance means it is easily confused with its close relative Tandonia rustica, and dissection is required to reliably distinguish the two species. Tandonia kusceri can be told apart from T. rustica and other Tandonia species by its very long epiphallus, which is at least five times longer than the penis. Another externally similar species is Tandonia serbica, and it has been questioned whether T. serbica is actually a distinct species separate from T. kusceri. When crawling, adult individuals can reach up to 100 mm (3.9 in) in length. Specimens preserved in alcohol lose their original pink colouration. For distribution: This species is thought to be native to parts of the Balkans, including Bulgaria, European Turkey, northern Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia, as well as eastern Romania. It has been introduced to a wider range of areas: It was recorded in Ukraine's Odessa region as early as 1902, though this occurrence may or may not be an introduction. It was observed in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region in 1998, and in Crimea in 2004. The first record of the species further west, in the Transcarpathian region, came in 2018, and the species continues to spread. It has also been recorded in a Dubrovnik garden in Croatia (1972), in Montenegro since 2000, in Moldova since 2011, in Slovakia since 2014, on Greece's Samothraki Island since 2017, in Hungary where it was already widely distributed when first recorded in 2019, and in Austria since 2020. In the Caucasus region, records exist from both Russia and Georgia, both dating to 2021. Outside of Europe, the species was reported from a garden in Chicago, USA, in 2013, and there have been numerous records from Ontario, Canada, starting in 2017.
