NEW RECORDS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN LAND SNAIL MASSYLAEA VERMICULATA (O. F. MÜLLER, 1774) IN HUNGARY AND SLOVAKIA

a Bstract : The Mediterranean Massylaea vermiculata (O. F. Müller) is reported from Slovakia for the first time (two sites), from Hungary for the first time since the 1980 record. There is a reason to suspect the existence of further, yet undetected, specimens or even populations in Central Europe. Based on the dynamics of similar invasions of terrestrial molluscs, we expect that in 2–3 decades the species may become locally abundant and widespread in both the Hungarian and the Slovak capitals.

For the last three decades Central Europe has experienced an increasing number of invasions of terrestrial animals, particularly molluscs (snails and slugs). In that period, 15 non-native terrestrial mollusc species have been reported in the Czech Republic, more than half of them probably of Mediterranean origin, indicating that Southern Europe is among the most frequent sources of species introduced to Central Europe (Peltanová et al. 2012). To provide further information on land snail invasions from southern countries, we report on a new Hungarian and two new Slovak occurrences of Massylaea vermiculata (O. F. Müller, 1774) (formerly Eobania vermiculata, see BouaZiZ-yahiatene et al. 2012) (Fig. 1), a species indigenous to the Mediterranean Basin. Its native range extends from Spain to Turkey, it includes the Crimean Peninsula (welTer-schultes 2012) and the north African coastal area.
We report on M. vermiculata from the following Slovak and Hungarian sites: kelemen leg. (Fig. 3). The specimen is deposited in the Mollusca Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Both Slovak sites are located in horticultural areas. The horticultural centre in Bratislava (area 0.4 ha) specialises in direct import of exotic woody plants, which are kept in pots and evenly distributed within the complex. The area is partly covered with geotextiles and wooden planks to prevent growth of weeds. The site is next to a flowing Danube branch (approx. 30 m), which is lined with a narrow strip of floodplain forest.
The horticultural centre in Stupava is smaller (0.14 ha in area), both herbaceous and woody plants displayed are from domestic sources and from the Mediterranean region (especially from Italy). The plants are kept either in pots or in containers filled with horticultural substrate. The complex is located in a built-up area, isolated from natural habitats, adjacent only to home gardens.
The Hungarian specimen was photographed by a citizen scientist (Julianna Kelemen), who uploaded the photos to www.fajbook.hu -a citizen science webpage on which members compete on the number of animal species they have photographed. Each taxon has an expert editor who confirms or corrects the identification provided by the citizen scientists. The editor of Mollusca is one of the authors (Zoltán Fehér), who recognised the value of the observation. The single specimen was photographed at Kós Károly tér [square] in Budapest, on a wall of a condominium building. During targeted search, the photographed specimen was re-found and collected ca. two months after the photograph was taken.
The Slovak records represent the first documented occurrences in that country. In Hungary, however, the species was reported before. An amateur collector, Lajos Ottó, found six live specimens in 1979 in Lipót village, north-western Hungary, near the Slovak border (ottó 1980(ottó , csányi & varGa 2017. He explained the survival of the snails by the character of the site. Namely, the snails were found near a wall of a greenhouse, in which hot water pipes run, and probably kept the wall and its immediate surroundings  It is not surprising that many of the newly introduced species and/or populations are discovered in populated areas. These areas are more affected by unintentional and intentional introductions. Furthermore, they are more likely to provide suitable thermal conditions for these newcomers, as the temperature is usually higher in cities than in uninhabited areas, which is the well-known urban heat island effect (wilby 2007). Eradication of potentially invasive species is suggested in the early stages of invasion, when populations are small and localised (Genovesi et al. 2010). Therefore, all specimens captured in the Belgian population were killed (ronsMans & van den neucker 2016). All three specimens reported here were captured and killed in ethanol in order to forestall the establishment any viable populations. The photos of the Hungarian specimen of M. vermiculata were discovered on a citizen science website, Fajbook.hu, which further emphasises the usefulness of such platforms for early detection and control of invasive species (Falk et al. 2016, Maistrello et al. 2016, Grason et al. 2018, véTek et al. 2018, Páll-GerGely et al. 2019, turóci et al. 2020).