Start here: Slug or Snail?
Slugs have:
- no visible shell or a small shell that cannot contain their body.
Snails have:
- a coiled shell that can contain most or all of their body.
Slugs
Parts of a slug
Common slug identification key
Start here:
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Testacella haliotidea, earshell slug
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- Slug has no visible shell and has...
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...pneumostome in middle or posterior half of mantle -
go to "Slugs with posterior pneumostomes" |
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Slugs with anterior pneumostomes
1. No line where tail can be shed. Caudal pore present. Body tubercles uneven, ovoid in shape with no apparent pattern.
Arion, roundback slugs
2. Line where tail can be shed (can be difficult to see). This can be an impressed line or indicated by a change in the skin texture. No caudal pore. Body tubercles typically diamond shaped in diagonal rows.
Prophysaon, tail droppers
Slugs with posterior pneumostomes
1. With bands or spots and...
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...foot fringe with vertical stripes, mantle without wrinkles -
Ariolimax columbianus |
Ariolimax columbianus
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...foot fringe without stripes, mantle with wrinkles -
Ambigolimax, Limacus, and Limax. |
Ambigolimax valentiana
Limacus flavus
Limax maximus
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2. No bands or spots (may have pigmented speckles) and...
Boettgerilla pallens
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...mantle rounded posteriorly. Body of typical slug proportions. Go to 3.
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Deroceras sp.
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Mantle without wrinkles, smooth or bumpy. Keel from tip of tail to mantle or nearly so (can be difficult to see). Go to 4.
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4. Mantle appearance...
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...with U-shaped groove. Foot fringe without vertical stripes. Less than 70mm (2.75”) - Milax gigates
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Milax gigates
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...without U-shaped groove. Foot fringe with vertical stripes. Adults over 180mm (7”) - Ariolimax columbianus
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Ariolimax columbianus
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