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Shelled slug

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Shelled slug
Drawing of the shelled slug, Testacella haliotidea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Testacellidae
Genus: Testacella
Species:
T. haliotidea
Binomial name
Testacella haliotidea
Lamarck, 1801

The shelled slug, scientific name Testacella haliotidea, is a rarely seen, air-breathing, carnivorous land slug, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Testacellidae, the shelled slugs.[2]

Testacella haliotidea, Testacella scutulum and Testacella maugei Plate from John W. Taylor Monograph of the land & freshwater Mollusca of the British Isles

Description

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This slug, like others in the family, has a small shell, which is situated towards the rear of the animal. The species epithet is haliotidea because the shell of this species resembles in shape a miniature version of the shell of the marine species in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.

This is a large, very agile, pale brown slug, with a length of 12 cm. It has a small ear-shaped, external shell, less than 1 cm long, at the tail end of the mantle.

The following shell description is modified from Tryon 1885. The shell is oval-auriform, depressed, and rugosely striate. It has a thin, readily deciduous epidermis. The apex is minute, very short and not separated from the columellar margin. The aperture is rounded and usually dilated anteriorly; the columella and the outer margin of the aperture form a distinct angle at their junction. The interior of the shell is whitish and pearly. The length of the shell is 6–10 mm.[3]

Distribution

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This species is common along the western Mediterranean, along the European Atlantic coast and throughout Great Britain apart from northern Scotland.[4] This slug occurs in Europe but its distribution is under-recorded there.

It was recorded in Czechia as an introduced species.[5] It also occurs as an introduced species in southern Australia, New Zealand[6] and North America (where it is called the earshell slug). The distribution data for the United States, (Oregon, Wisconsin) and Canada (British Columbia, Nova Scotia) are incomplete.

Habitat

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This species is seen mostly in the spring, living in cultivated habitats or on disturbed ground. The slug lives mostly underground,[4] but may sometimes be found under stones or in leaf litter.

Life habits

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This slug hunts and eats earthworms underground. The radula teeth are a functional adaption in the capturing of prey.

Conservation status

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  • Least concern (LC)[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Allen, D.J. (2017). "Testacella haliotidea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T171079A1320948. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T171079A1320948.en. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ Marshall, B. (2014). Testacella haliotidea Lamarck, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=819973 on 2014-11-06
  3. ^ George Washington Tryon: Manual of conchology; structural and systematic. With illustrations of the species. Second series: Pulmonata, volume 1. - 1885, Philadelphia, page 10.
  4. ^ a b Stuart M. Bennett. 2000. Testacella baliotidea. Casual Intruders page.
  5. ^ Podroužková, Štěpánka (2022-09-12). "The first record of carnivorous semislug Testacella haliotidea Draparnaud, 1801 in Czechia". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 21: 63–64. doi:10.5817/MaB2022-21-63. ISSN 1336-6939.
  6. ^ 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
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