Kerry slug
| Kerry slug | |
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| Photo of dorsal view. | |
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| Drawing of right side view. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Arionoidea |
| Family: | Arionidae |
| Genus: | Geomalacus |
| Subgenus: | Geomalacus |
| Species: | G. maculosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Geomalacus maculosus Allman, 1843 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Geomalacus grandis Simroth, 1894 |
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clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra
Geomalacus grandis Simroth, 1894
Letourneuxia lusitana Castro, 1873
The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug, scientific name Geomalacus maculosus, is a rare species of medium-sized to large air-breathing land slug. It is a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
An adult Kerry slug generally measures 7–8 cm (2.8–3.2 in) in length and is dark grey or brownish in colour, with yellowish spots. The internal anatomy of the slug shows some unusual features, and some characteristic differences from the genus Arion, which is the type genus of the family Arionidae. The Kerry slug was described in 1843, rather late compared to many other relatively large land gastropods that form a part of the fauna of the British Isles; this is one indication of this slug's rarity and its secretive habits.
Although the distribution of this slug species does include some wild habitats in southwestern Ireland (e.g. in County Kerry), the species is more widespread in north-west Spain and from central to northern Portugal. However, it is not found anywhere between Ireland and Spain. The species appears to require environments that have high humidity and acidic soil (soil with no calcium carbonate in it). The slug is mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, although in Ireland it is active on overcast days. It feeds on lichens, liverworts, mosses and fungi, which grow either on boulders or on tree trunks.
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Wikipedia