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Tandonia budapestensis
	A live individual of Tandonia budapestensis
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Milacidae
Genus:	Tandonia
Species:	T. budapestensis
Binomial name
	Tandonia budapestensis; (Hazay, 1880)
Synonyms
	Amalia budapestensis Hazay, 1880; Milax gracilis valachicus Grossu & Lupu, 1961;

Tandonia budapestensis is a species of air-breathing, keeled, land slug, a shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the family Milacidae.^[4]

Description

This slug is basically dark brownish grey, with a keel of a brighter color. The body is yellowish-grey to brown or dark grey, with numerous black spots, so that the slug may appear to be evenly black-brown, slightly lighter at the sides. The animal is very slender, gradually narrowing posteriorly. The mantle length is less than 1/3 of the body length. There are blurry black bands on the sides of the mantle. The keel is prominent, light, and reaches the mantle. The head and neck are blackish. The sole is narrow and cream with brown or orange hue. The body mucus is usually colourless, thick and sticky but it is yellowish when the slug is irritated.^[3]

The length is up to 70 mm.^[3] The length of a preserved specimen is 30–40 mm.^[3]

Reproductive system: The penis is rounded, wider than and approximately as long as the epiphallus. The vas deferens opening is clearly asymmetrically at the posterior end of epiphallus. There is a small simple papilla inside the penis. The spermatheca duct is usually thick; the vagina and atrium are short, the vagina accessory glands are two lobe-like objects connected to the vagina by thin ducts.^[3] The spermatophore is thin, 16 mm long, covered almost entirely with short spines.^[3]

Distribution

This slug is native to Europe. It originated most probably from southeastern Alps and north Balkans to Hungary and Romania (Transylvania).^[3]

It occurs in the following countries, amongst others:

Europe:

Austria
Bulgaria^[3]
British Isles: introduced before 1880:^[3] Great Britain and Ireland
Czech Republic - least concern (LC)^[5]^[6]
France^[3]
Hebrides^[3]
Hungary
Iceland^[3]
Kaliningrad^[3]
Netherlands^[7]
Poland
Romania
Slovakia^[6]
Turkey^[3]
Ukraine^[3]

other countries:

New Zealand^[8]
USA^[9]

This species is already established in the USA, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine significance in the USA.^[10]

Habitat

This slug mainly lives in secondary, anthropogenous (man-made) habitats, such as farmland.^[11] The habitat of Tandonia budapestensis includes parks, gardens, ruins and cultivated fields.^[3] It lives as a synanthrope.^[3] It occur in natural environments in Britain only where human disturbance is involved.^[3] In south Bulgaria it is found usually between 300 and 1000 m, but locally up to 2200 m.^[3] It requires humidity and is active at night.^[3] It buries into heavy soils.^[3]

This species is widespread in some countries^[3] and it is still spreading in the British Isles.^[3]

The biology of the species was reviewed by Reise et al. (2006).^[9] In Britain the copulation of this slug species takes place from November to January; in Central Europe from April to autumn.^[3] Slugs may copulate several times in their life.^[3] Copulation begins usually at night and may last 15 hours or more; everted genitalia are visible between the partners.^[3] In Britain, juveniles hatch in April or May, and maturity is reached in the autumn.^[3] Up to more than 20 eggs are laid at a time.^[3] In Central Europe, eggs, sub-adults and adults pass the winter.^[3]

Human relevance

This species is noxious to crops, in lowland England particularly to potatoes.^[3] This species is a pest in crops of root vegetables.

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.^[3]

^ Rowson, B. (2017). "Tandonia budapestensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T171002A1319884. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T171002A1319884.en. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
^ Hazay J. (1880). "Die Molluskenfauna von Budapest". Malakozoologische Blätter (Neue Folge) 3["1881"]: 1-69, 160-183, Taf. I-IX [= 1-9]. Cassel.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae "Species summary for Tandonia budapestensis". AnimalBase, last modified 14 February 2009, accessed 26 August 2010.
^ Marshall, B. (2014). Tandonia budapestensis (Hazay, 1880). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=819995 on 2014-11-06
^ Juřičková L., Horsák M. & Beran L. (2001). "Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic". Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 65: 25-40.
^ ^a ^b Dvořák L., Čejka T. & Horsák M. (2003) "Present knowledge of distribution of Tandonia budapestensis (Hazay, 1881) in the Czech and Slovak Republics (Gastropoda: Milacidae)" Malakológiai Tájekoztató (Malacological Newsletter) 21: 37-43. PDF.
^ "Anemoon > Flora en Fauna > Soorteninformatie".
^ Barker, G.M. 1999. Naturalised terrestrial Stylommatophora (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Fauna of New Zealand No. 48. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln, NZ. PDF
^ ^a ^b Reise H., Hutchinson J. M. C. & Robinson D. G. (2006). "Two introduced pest slugs: Tandonia budapestensis new to the Americas, and Deroceras panormitanum new to the Eastern USA". Veliger 48: 110-115. PDF
^ Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". American Malacological Bulletin 27: 113-132. PDF Archived 2016-06-16 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Janus, Horst (1965). The young specialist looks at land and freshwater molluscs, Burke, London.

Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca. pp 196–219 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.