Testacella
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Testacella Temporal range: Lutetian-Recent |
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| Shelled Slug, Testacella haliotidea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Clade: | Heterobranchia |
| Clade: | Euthyneura |
| Order: | Panpulmonata |
| Clade: | Eupulmonata |
| Clade: | Stylommatophora |
| Informal group: | Sigmurethra |
| Family: |
Testacellidae J. E. Gray, 1840 |
| Genus: |
Testacella Draparnaud, 1801 |
| Diversity | |
| 6 extant species cf. | |
Testacella is genus of small to medium-large, predatory, air-breathing, land slugs. They are terrestrial gastropod mollusks in the family Testacellidae, the shelled slugs. They are not often seen because they live underground.
Testacella is the only genus in the family, in other words it is a monotypic family. Testacella is the type genus of the family Testacellidae.
Species within this genus of slugs live in north Africa, southern and western Europe, and Britain.
Species within the genus Testacella include:
Subgenus Testacella Draparnaud, 1801
Subgenus Testacelloides A. J. Wagner, 1914
These slugs have a very small, ear-shaped shell, which is situated far back on their bodies.
In the family Testacellidae, the number of haploid chromosomes lies between 31 and 35 (according to the values in this table).
These slugs are rarely observed, but they tend to live in gardens and farms where there is rich soil and a lot of earthworms.
These slugs live underground and hunt earthworms. They are usually only seen when they are forced up to the surface because the soil has become completely saturated with rain.
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