Great Grey Slug

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Grey Slug
Limax maximus
Limax maximus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Pulmonata
Family: Limacidae
Genus: Limax
Species: L. maximus
Binomial name
Limax maximus
Linnaeus, 1758

The Great Grey Slug, Limax maximus (literally, "great slug"), also known as the Tiger slug or the Spotted leopard slug, is one of the largest kinds of keeled slug (second only to Limax cinereoniger). The species is noted for its dark-spotted pale-grey body and the short keel on its tail. These nocturnal animals can grow to be as long as 8 inches (20 cm), feeding mostly on rotting plant matter and fungi. They live for up to three years and are inactive during the winter.

Contents

[edit] Mating

The mating habits of Limax maximus are considered unusual among slugs: the hermaphrodite slugs court, usually for hours, by circling and licking each other. After this, the slugs will climb into a tree or other high area and then, entwined together, lower themselves on a thick string of mucus, evert their white translucent mating organs (penises) from their gonopores (openings on the right side of the head), entwine these organs, and exchange sperm. Both participants will later lay hundreds of eggs.

A commonly seen practice among many slugs is apophallation, when one or both of the slugs chews off the other's penis. The penis of these species is curled like a cork-screw and often becomes entangled in their mate's genitalia in the process of exchanging sperm. When all else fails, apophallation allows the slugs to separate themselves. Once its penis has been removed, a slug is still able to participate in mating subsequently, but only using the female parts of its reproductive system.

The tiny slugs which emerge from the eggs need at least two years to reach sexual maturity.[1]

[edit] Photographs

Two mating Leopard Slugs suspended by a mucus thread, Oklahoma, USA

Mating Great Grey Slug found in Maryland, USA

Close up of mating Great Grey Slug found in Maryland, USA

Close up of Mating Great Grey Slug found in Maryland, USA

[edit] Distribution

Native to Europe, the slugs have been introduced to Northern America and occur along the East and West sides of that continent. The slugs are almost always found near human habitation — usually in lawns, gardens, cellars or in other damp areas.

[edit] Health Risks

A meningitis-causing nematode, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which normally infests the lungs of rats, has a larval stage requiring it to live in mollusks, including slugs. Previously, the worm had only been known to be a problem in tropical areas but has since moved to other regions. Live slugs accidentally eaten with improperly cleaned vegetables (such as lettuce), or improperly cooked slugs (for use in recipes requiring larger slugs such as banana slugs), can act as a vector for a parasitic infection.[2][3]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Limax maximus, Invertebrate Anatomy OnLine, Lander University.
  2. ^ Sanjaya N. Senanayake, Don S. Pryor, John Walker & Pam Konecny (2003) First report of human angiostrongyliasis acquired in Sydney. - The Medical Journal of Australia, 179 (8): 430-431.
  3. ^ Man's brain infected by eating slugs (20 October 2003).
  • Michael P. Kerney & R.A.D. Cameron, 1979, A field guide to the land snails of Britain and north-west Europe, Collins, Glasgow.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] External links