Helix lutescens (Gastropoda: Helicidae) expands its range in Ukraine

Abstract

We analysed the records of Helix lutescens in Ukraine from the 19th century to the present. We found that the range of this species has expanded significantly. At the beginning of the 21st century, H. lutescens was discovered for the first time in six administrative regions of Western (Transcarpathian), Central (Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kirovohrad) and Eastern (Donetsk) Ukraine. The expansion of the range of H. lutescens due to anthropochory is also the case in other European countries, as evidenced by literature data and some observations in the iNaturalist citizen science database.

Keywords

• land snail
• terrestrial molluscs
• introduction
• spreading