Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [URDU]
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Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [URDU]
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc.
The word slug is used for any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a much-reduced shell, or only a small internal shell.
Slugs’ bodies are made up mostly of water and, without a full-sized shell.
Their soft tissues are prone to desiccation.
They must generate protective mucus to survive.
Many species are most active just after a rain because of the moist ground or during night time.
In drier conditions, they hide in damp places such as under tree bark, fallen logs, rocks and manmade structures.
Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky.
Both kinds of mucus are hygroscopic.
The thin mucus spreads from the foot's centre to its edges, whereas the thick mucus spreads from front to back.
Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body of the animal.
The mucus secreted by the foot contains fibres that help prevent the slug from slipping down vertical surfaces.
This is a tropical land slug, called tropical leatherleaf or Laevicaulis alte.
Tropical leatherleaf is a round, dark-coloured slug with no shell.
Its length is 7 to 8 centimetres or 2.8 to 3.1 inches.
This slug has a unique, very narrow foot; juvenile specimens have a foot 1 millimetre in width, and adult specimens have a foot 4 to 5 millimetres wide.
The tentacles are small, 2 to 3 millimetres long.
The main predator of this slug is a frog, the Indian bullfrog.
The species is probably indigenous to Africa, both western Africa and eastern Africa, particularly Tanzania.
It has been introduced and has become an invasive species in Southern Asia, Pratas Island, Taiwan, United States (Hawaii), Islands in the Indian Ocean, Australia and Samoa.
Tropical leatherleaf lives in dry areas, mostly at lower altitudes.
The slug hatches from eggs.
The species has several adaptations for living in dry conditions: a rounded shape with as small as possible surface area, and a narrow foot to reduce evaporation.
Juvenile specimens search for food always at night, and stay buried in the soil during the day.
Larger specimens are active during the day sometimes.
The slug can grow up from 0.5 to 4 centimetres in length in 7 months.
#Slugs
#SlugsofPakistan
#WildlifeofPakistan
#AhmadNetix
Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [URDU]
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc.
The word slug is used for any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a much-reduced shell, or only a small internal shell.
Slugs’ bodies are made up mostly of water and, without a full-sized shell.
Their soft tissues are prone to desiccation.
They must generate protective mucus to survive.
Many species are most active just after a rain because of the moist ground or during night time.
In drier conditions, they hide in damp places such as under tree bark, fallen logs, rocks and manmade structures.
Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky.
Both kinds of mucus are hygroscopic.
The thin mucus spreads from the foot's centre to its edges, whereas the thick mucus spreads from front to back.
Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body of the animal.
The mucus secreted by the foot contains fibres that help prevent the slug from slipping down vertical surfaces.
This is a tropical land slug, called tropical leatherleaf or Laevicaulis alte.
Tropical leatherleaf is a round, dark-coloured slug with no shell.
Its length is 7 to 8 centimetres or 2.8 to 3.1 inches.
This slug has a unique, very narrow foot; juvenile specimens have a foot 1 millimetre in width, and adult specimens have a foot 4 to 5 millimetres wide.
The tentacles are small, 2 to 3 millimetres long.
The main predator of this slug is a frog, the Indian bullfrog.
The species is probably indigenous to Africa, both western Africa and eastern Africa, particularly Tanzania.
It has been introduced and has become an invasive species in Southern Asia, Pratas Island, Taiwan, United States (Hawaii), Islands in the Indian Ocean, Australia and Samoa.
Tropical leatherleaf lives in dry areas, mostly at lower altitudes.
The slug hatches from eggs.
The species has several adaptations for living in dry conditions: a rounded shape with as small as possible surface area, and a narrow foot to reduce evaporation.
Juvenile specimens search for food always at night, and stay buried in the soil during the day.
Larger specimens are active during the day sometimes.
The slug can grow up from 0.5 to 4 centimetres in length in 7 months.