Geomalacus malagensis

Geomalacus malagensis is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Arionidae, the round back slugs.

Geomalacus malagensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Superorder: Eupulmonata
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Arionidae
Genus: Geomalacus
Subgenus: Arrudia
Species:
G. malagensis
Binomial name
Geomalacus malagensis
Wiktor & Norris, 1991[1]

Distribution

Distribution of Geomalacus malagensis include southern Spain and Gibraltar.[2]

Description

This slug species is pale beige-greenish to beige-grey, sometimes also yellowish-orange, with blackish narrow lateral bands having clearly marked upper edges and blurry lower edges, running from posterior end to frontal section of mantle, above the pneumostome.[2] The shape of the slug is elongate, dorso-ventrally flattened (oval in transversal cut).[2] The head is very short (only 2–3 mm protruding from under the mantle).[2] Tentacles are brown and long.[2] Mantle length covers 35% of body.[2] There are 26 grooves between medial line of dorsum and pneumostome.[2] Sole is dirty cream, transparent (viscera visible in live slugs), medial section narrower than lateral sections and slightly concave.[2] Mucus is colourless and thin, also when irritated, sometimes with orange hue.[2] Mucus secreted onto the ground while crawling breaks into thin threads and coagulates into a unique spider-web like pattern, not seen in Arion species.[2]

The length of the body is up to 80 × 10.5 mm (preserved 58 × 11 mm).[2]

Ecology

Geomalacus malagensis is frequent on calcareous soil, in gardens, shrubland and open forests.[2]

It seems to feed on fruits and other soft parts of plants.[2]

Sexually mature slugs are found in spring and autumn.[2]

Captured slugs were found infected with nematodes.[2]

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References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference.[2]

  1. Wiktor A. & Norris A. (1991). "Geomalacus malagensis sp. n. and some remarks concerning generic level systematics of Arionidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)". Journal of Conchology 34(1): 19-29. London.
  2. "Species summary for Geomalacus malagensis". AnimalBase, last modified 23 June 2008, accessed 9 December 2010.
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