| Ghost slug Selenochlamys ysbryda |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusci |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Panpulmonata clade Eupulmonata clade Stylommatophora |
| Superfamily: | Parmacelloidea |
| Family: | Trigonochlamydidae |
| Subfamily: | Trigonochlamydinae |
| Genus: | Selenochlamys |
| Species: | S. ysbryda |
| Binomial name | |
| Selenochlamys ysbryda Rowson & Symondson, 2008[1] |
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The ghost slug, Selenochlamys ysbryda, is a species of predatory air-breathing land slug. It is a shell-less pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Trigonochlamydidae.
The species was discovered in 2006 in Glamorgan, Wales[2] and was formally described and named in 2008 by Ben Rowson, a research assistant and PhD candidate at the National Museum Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru), and Bill Symondson, an ecologist at Cardiff University.
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This slug can reach 6.4 cm in size, with its body extended. It has no eyes, and is white in colour. It is nocturnal and burrowing, and unlike the majority of slugs, it is a carnivore, feeding on earthworms at night using its blade-like teeth.[3] Both the mantle and the breathing hole are found at the tail end of the body.[4] The species was unknown to science prior to 2006.[5]
Because of the slug's white colour and nocturnal habits, and because it has been so rarely seen, it was given the species name ysbryda, the word "ysbryd" meaning ghost in the Welsh language. This in turn gave rise to the common name, "ghost slug". This appears to be the first case of a species name having been taken from the Welsh language.
Other slug species in this family are found in Turkey and Georgia[5], however, as far as is currently known, no representatives have been found and described in Western Europe prior to this discovery. Although the species is almost certainly introduced, the country of origin of this species, and how it made its way into Britain is still unknown. Bill Symondson speculated that the slug originally evolved in cave systems alien to the UK, and may possibly have arrived in Wales in soil in a potted plant.[5]
The first specimen was collected in the churchyard of Brecon cathedral on December 29, 2004, but its significance was overlooked at the time[6]. A second specimen was found in a lane in Caerphilly on October 29, 2006[7]. This single specimen was photographed and then released. A year later, another slug was found by a gardener near Cardiff, Wales, where it was brought to the attention of the National Museum Wales. Additional ghost slugs have been found in Gorseinon, near Swansea, Wales[8], Hay-on-Wye (Welsh Borders), and Knowle, near Bristol, England [9] [10].
The slug is not harmful to humans, but as a presumed introduced species, more records are being solicited, partly on the basis of an appeal to the public. As more information is gathered, the distribution of the species will be monitored to check that it does not become an invasive pest species as it presumably spreads across South Wales.
Selenochlamys ysbryda was selected as one of "The Top 10 New Species" described in 2008 by The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University and an international committee of taxonomists[11].
The specific epithet ysbryda, is derived from Welsh “ysbryd,” meaning a ghost or spirit. The word was Latinized by the addition of a feminine ending 'a', and to is to be treated as a noun in apposition. The name alludes to the species’ ghostly appearance, nocturnal, predatory behaviour and the element of mystery surrounding its origin."[2]