Red Slug
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| Arion rufus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Red Slug (Arion rufus; also known as the Chocolate Arion or the European red slug) is a large slug, characterised by its usually red or brown body and lack of a keel.
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[edit] Description
At most, a full-grown Red Slug can extend to be approximately 18cm (7 inches) in length; although they usually only grow to be 7–10cm (2.7–3.9 inches) long.
Perhaps the Red Slug's most distinguishable feature is the placement of its pneumostome just before the mid-point of its mantle. Like all slugs, the Red Slug moves relatively slow because they only have one muscular foot, which is mostly red with stripes.
The Red Slug, like all other slugs, uses two pairs of tentacles to sense its environment. The darkly-coloured upper pair, called optical tentacles, is used to sense light. The lower pair provide the Red Slug's sense of smell. Both pairs can be retract and extend themselves to avoid hazards, and, if lost, can be regrown.
Its genus, Arion, is derived from the name of the legendary Greek poet Arion. Its species name, rufus, is Latin for red. Although often red or brown, Arion rufus can also be greenish-brown, black, yellow, or orange.
[edit] Distribution
The Red Slug typically lives in gardens, fields, or other wooded areas near human activity. It is most common in western and central Europe, as well as North America; in particular, southern British Columbia. The Red Slug originated in Europe.
- Not listed in IUCN red list - not evaluated (NE) [1]
- Austria [2]
- The Czech Republic - least concern (LC) [3]
- Germany [4]
- Slovakia
- ...
[edit] See also
Similar species are Arion ater and Arion lusitanicus.
[edit] References
- ^ 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Cited 2 March 2007.
- ^ http://ipp.boku.ac.at/private/wf/Check_List_of_Austrian_Mollusca.html
- ^ Juřičková L., Horsák M. & Beran L., 2001: Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem., 65: 25-40.
- ^ http://www.mollbase.de/list/deunam.htm
- ITIS Standard Report Page: Arion Rufus
- Living Landscapes
- Rosetta, Robin; 2004. Oregon State University
- Forsyth, Robert; 2004. Land Snails of British Columbia
[edit] External links
- Photographs of red Arion rufus. Retrieved July 1, 2005.
- Photographs of brown Arion rufus. Retrieved July 1, 2005.
- Photograph of brown Arion rufus. Retrieved July 1, 2005.
- Various photographs of Arion rufus. Retrieved July 1, 2005.
