Deroceras laeve

Marsh slug
NE[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Heterobranchia

clade Euthyneura
clade Panpulmonata
clade Eupulmonata
clade Stylommatophora
informal group Sigmurethra
clade limacoid clade

Superfamily: Limacoidea
Family: Agriolimacidae
Genus: Deroceras
Species: D. laeve
Binomial name
Deroceras laeve
(O. F. Müller, 1774)[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Limax lævis Müller, 1774
  • Limax brunneus Draparnaud, 1801
  • Limax (Deroceras?) gracilis Rafinesque, 1820
  • Limax campestris Binney, 1842
  • Limax parvulus Normand, 1852
  • Limax Weinlandi Heynemann, 1862
  • Limax araneus Gessis, 1867
  • Agriolimax bovenoti Collinge, 1870
  • Limax castaneus Ingersoll, 1875
  • Limax ingersolli Binney, 1875
  • Limax montanus Ingersoll, 1875
  • Limax hyperboreus Westerlund, 1876
  • Krynickillus montanus Nevill, 1880
  • Limax hemphilli Binney, 1890
  • Limax berendti var. pictus Cockerell, 1897
  • Agriolimax pseudodiocus Velichkovskiy, 1910
  • Agriolimax (Hydrolimax) renschi Wagner, 1934

Deroceras laeve, the marsh slug, is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.

Distribution

The distribution of Deroceras laeve was originally Palearctic, from the subpolar zones to the southern margins.[4] Today this slug species has been introduced worldwide except Antarctica, also on tropical islands such as New Guinea and on Pacific islands.[4]

Europe:

Asia:

The Americas:

Description

The slug is from brown to dark brown, usually with dark and characteristic but not well visible spots arranged in groups.[4] The shape is almost cylindrical, posterior end is abruptly widened.[4] The mantle covers 50% of body length (unusually large).[4] There are wrinkles on skin present (may disappear in preserved slugs).[4] Mucus is thin, colourless.[4]

This slug is 15–25 mm long when preserved.[4]

The populations of this species that occur in Central Europe are much darker than other Deroceras species in that area.

Drawing of the reproductive system of Deroceras laeve
a - atrium
v - vagina
p - penis
mr - musculus retractor penis
bc - bursa copulatrix.

Reproductive system: Penis is often reduced, elongated if present, without proper penial gland but with two or more tiny glandular papillae and its end.[4] Retractor is unforked and attached at half penis length, stimulator small, cone-shaped but looks more like a papilla.[4] Tubular oviductus and atrium are unusually long.[4] There is no rectal caecum.[4]

Epithelium of Deroceras laeve

Ecology

Habitat

Deroceras laeve has high ecological tolerance, but needs permanently wet habitats.[4] It is usually found in lowlands and very humid habitats, swamps, riversides, wetlands, especially alder and oak woods, marshlands and degraded areas, also greenhouses, often near water under wood or detritus.[4] It tolerates subpolar and tropical temperatures.[4] Newly created habitats are often colonized after a few years.[4] In Switzerland in up to 1800 m altitude, but usually below 1000 m, in Bulgaria in up to 2500 m.[4]

Deroceras laeve can be a serious pest in greenhouses.[4] On the other hand, the species is threatened by continuous elimination of wet habitats by drainage, construction projects and road construction.[4]

It is the only land gastropod that goes deliberately into the water and can survive for days submerged.[4] Because of this unusual behavior, the species can be dispersed by flowing water.[4]

Feeding habits

These slugs are agile and crawl quickly. They are omnivorous, but live and dead plant remains are preferred.[4]

Life cycle

The eggs of this species can also survive when submerged; juveniles can hatch underwater and then climb to the surface.[4]

The life cycle is extremely short, and can take place within less than a month.[4] This species can have up to 5 generations in a year,[4] with several generations alive at the same time.[4] Frequently there are forms with a reduced penis, which reproduce by self-fertilisation.[4] The maximum age of this slug is not more than 1 year.[4]

Parasites

Parasites of Deroceras laeve include:

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference [4]

  1. ↑ (2006). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Cited 2 March 2007.
  2. ↑ Müller O. F. (1774). Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volumen alterum. pp. I-XXXVI [= 1-36], 1-214, [1-10]. Havniæ & Lipsiæ. (Heineck & Faber).
  3. ↑ "Synonyms of Limax laevis (n=17)". AnimalBase, accessed 4 January 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Species summary for Deroceras laeve. AnimalBase, accessed 4 January 2011.
  5. 1 2 (Czech) Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1-37. PDF.
  6. ↑ Juřičková L, Horsák M, Beran L (2001). "Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic". Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 65: 25–40.
  7. ↑ http://www.anemoon.org/anm/voorlopige-kaarten/landmollusken/wetenschappelijk/deroceras-laeve/
  8. ↑ Balashov, I.; Gural-Sverlova, N. (2012). "An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine". Journal of Conchology. 41 (1): 91–109.
  9. ↑ Hlaváč, J. Č. (2004). "A new record of Deroceras laeve (O. F. Müller, 1774) from Pakistan (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Agriolimacidae)". Folia Malacologica. 12: 181–182.
  10. ↑ Wiktor, A.; De-niu, C.; Wu, M. (2000). "Stylommatophoran slugs of China (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) – prodromus". Folia Malacologica. 8 (1): 3–35.
  11. ↑ Tsai C.-L. & Wu S.-K. (2008). "A New Meghimatium Slug (Pulmonata: Philomycidae) from Taiwan". Zoological Studies 47(6): 759-766. PDF.
  12. ↑ Rory J. Mc Donnel; Timothy D. Paine; Michael J. Gormally (2009). Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California. ISBN 978-1-60107-564-2.
  13. ↑ Hausdorf B (May 2002). "Introduced land snails and slugs in Colombia". J. Molluscan Stud. 68 (2): 127–131. doi:10.1093/mollus/68.2.127. PMID 12011238.
  14. ↑ Robinson D. G., Hovestadt A., Fields A. & Breure A. S. H. (July 2009). "The land Mollusca of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), with notes on some enigmatic or rare species". Zoologische Mededelingen 83 http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/83/nr03/a13
  15. ↑ Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. "Brainworm". accessed 14 December 2010.
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