Paua slug

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Paua slug
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Order: Pulmonata Family: Rhytididae Genus: Schizoglossa Species: S. novoseelandica
Binomial name
Schizoglossa novoseelandica Hedley, 1892

The paua slug, Schizoglossa novoseelandica, is a small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial gastropod mollusc in the family Rhytididae.

Contents 1 Distribution 2 Description 3 Life habits 4 References

[edit] Distribution

This slug is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand.

[edit] Description

This slug (and the other species in the same genus) have a shell which is reduced to little more than a cover for the viscera. The shell resembles the shell of an abalone, hence its name; paua is the Māori word for abalone. The shell of this slug is thin, opaque, and is covered by a thin, shining, greenish-olive periostracum.

The length of the shell of this slug is between 5.8 and 20 mm, with a width of 4 to 12 mm.

[edit] Life habits

The paua slug lives on land and feeds on worms.

There are two subspecies:

• Schizoglossa novoseelandica novoseelandica - on the New Zealand mainland.
• Schizoglossa novoseelandica barrierensis - found only on the Great Barrier Island.

[edit] References

• Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1