Tandonia (Tandonia) kusceri (Wagner, 1931)
Great variation in coloration and patterns, including within populations (Wiktor 1996).
External: Mantle 1/4 of body length; pink-brown or gray-pink (when alive) with dark spots, converging in a band on each side of the mantle; yellow or brown body with spots when preserved; dark spots concentrated in skin grooves, forming reticulations; head and tentacles dark; pale, weak keel along entire length of dorsum (more prominent in life); long, weak tubercles in skin; gray-cream sole; thick, shiny, transparent slime, turning milky when perturbed (Wiktor 1983).
Internal: Long, thin vas deferens forming loops; very long cylindrical epiphallus 5-8x penis length and widest in its middle; small papillae and concentric folds in epiphallus; short penis with furrowed papilla inside its spherical base; thin penial retractor muscle connects to slight constriction between penis and epiphallus; wide retentor muscle on side of spherical base of penis; cylindrical oviduct slightly longer than penis; rounded spermatheca with duct of penis width; short vagina connected to a pair of cream/yellow accessory glands; short atrium attached to body wall by retentor muscles (Wiktor 1983, 1987).
Similar to T. serbica and T. rustica (Wiktor 1983); larger body, no black spots on back, much longer and thinner epiphallus; other differences in genitalia relative to T. serbica; T. rustica is lighter with more distinct black dots, shorter epiphallus, other differences of the genitalia (Wiktor 1987).
Eggs: 4.5 x 4 mm, ovate, iridescent (Osanova 1972 in Wiktor 1983).
Juveniles: darker bodies with less clear patterns (Wiktor 1987).
To 100 mm extended; preserved to 55-65 mm long, 15 mm wide, mantle 20 mm long (Wiktor 1987).
Native to: Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, W Turkey, Romania (Dobrudzha) (Wiktor 1983)
Introduced to: S Ukraine (Odessa) (Wiktor 1987).
Up to 1250 m altitude; broad environmental tolerance (humid and dry); in forests, brush, and rocky places w/o much undergrowth, and often a synanthrope of disturbed habitats. Common where rocks and decaying logs are plentiful; tends to take shelter under stones (Wiktor 1983, 1987).
Oviposits in spring. Generations appear to overlap (Wiktor 1987).
May be a pest on vegetables (Wiktor 1987).