Boettgerilla pallens
| Boettgerilla pallens | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Boettgerilla pallens | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata clade Stylommatophora informal group Sigmurethra clade limacoid clade |
| Superfamily: | Limacoidea |
| Family: | Boettgerillidae |
| Genus: | Boettgerilla |
| Species: | B. pallens |
| Binomial name | |
|
Boettgerilla pallens Simroth, 1912 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Boettgerilla vermiformis Wiktor, 1959 |
|
Boettgerilla vermiformis Wiktor, 1959
Boettgerilla pallens, common name the worm slug, is a European species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Boettgerillidae.
The type locality of Boettgerilla pallens is Gudauta in Abkhazia.
The native distribution of Boettgerilla pallens is believed to be the SW flank of the Caucasus:
Maybe it is also native to the Crimean Mountains and Donetsk Upland in Ukraine
But the species has spread spectacularly over the last half century. Dates of first recorded occurrences in various countries are listed in.
In Europe, Boettgerilla pallens was first found in 1949 (in Germany). It has now been become naturalized in most of Europe although it has conspicuously not been reported from most southern European countries. Countries where it occurs include:
Outside Europe it is also known, presumed as an introduction, from:
Boettgerilla pallens is very narrow and slender slug, almost worm-like and sharply keeled. The color is pale greyish or with bluish hue. The head and keel is slightly darker. The mantle is pointed at its posterior end and equipped with fine concentrical grooves. Sole is pale yellow. Mucus is colourless. Juveniles are yellowish to dirty white.
The body length is up to 60 mm. The width is up to 3 mm.
The shell is small, fragile, 1.5-3 x 0.8-1.5 mm, with median nucleus and growth lines, denser in the posterior part, no thin margin, located below the very terminal section of the pointed end of the mantle.
Reproductive system: Penis is elongate and broader than vagina, epiphallus and spermatheca. Epiphallus is swollen and connected to penis laterally near its posterior end, by a long thin duct, which is thinner than vas deferens. Vagina as long as penis and almost as narrow as vas deferens. There are no accessory glands. The spermatheca is elongate and relatively short.
...
Wikipedia