Arion subfuscus
| Arion subfuscus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Arionidae |
| Genus: | Arion |
| Species: | A. subfuscus |
| Binomial name | |
| Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud), 1805) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Arion subfuscus, sometimes colloquially called the western dusky slug, is a species of land slug. It forms a species complex with Arion fuscus.
Description
The species is elongated and moderately thick. Its mantle is slightly humped in the front. The neck is rather short, as are the oral tentacles. The eyestalks are thick at their base and taper toward the top, which is globulous (or swollen). They are blackish, as is the upper part of the head, which is crossed by four longitudinal stripes. The mantle is granular, and the back is strewn with interwoven ridges. The underside of the slug is whitish, and yellowish in the middle. The edge of the foot is grey and marked with small transverse black lines. Present at the tail are overlapping lamellae (plates or folds). The colour of this species varies. The mantle and the upper side of the body are always a fairly dark brown, and there is a black band on each side of both the mantle and the body.
However, variety α is coloured with a reddish tint, which is much more noticeable toward the middle of the mantle, and especially on each side of the body below the two black bands. In contrast, in variety β, the tint is ashen or greyish, against which the blackish network formed by the interwoven ridges stands out on each side of the body.
Distribution
It is native to Eurasia, and has been introduced to eastern North America.
References
- ↑ Rowson, B. (2017). "Arion subfuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T171489A85579367. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T171489A85579367.en. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ↑ NatureServe. "Arion subfuscus". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- ↑ "Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud, 1805)". www.molluscabase.org. MolluscaBase. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ↑ Pinceel, J.; Jordaens, K.; Houtte, N. Van; Winter, A. J. De; Backeljau, T. (1 September 2004). "Molecular and morphological data reveal cryptic taxonomic diversity in the terrestrial slug complex Arion subfuscus/fuscus (Mollusca, Pulmonata, Arionidae) in continental north-west Europe". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 83 (1): 23–38. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00368.x. ISSN 1095-8312.
- ↑ Arion subfuscus. 2 November 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species.
- ↑ Draparnaud, J.-P.-R. (1805). Histoire naturelle des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France. 2 pp. (Avertissement a sa Majesté l'Impératrice), 2 pp. Rapport, i-viii (Préface). Paris: Levrault & Schoell. pp. 125–126. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Bank, R. A.; Neubert, E. (2017). Checklist of the land and freshwater Gastropoda of Europe. Last update: July 16, 2017.
- Wiktor, A., De-Niu, C. & Ming, W. (2000). Stylommatophoran slugs of China (Gastropoda: Pulmonata)-Prodromus. Folia Malacologica. 8(1): 3-35.
- Garrido, C., Castillejo, J. & Iglesisas, J. (1995). The Arion subfuscus complex in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, with redescription of Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud 1805) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Arionidae). Archiv für Molluskenkunde, 124 (1/2): 103-118. Frankfurt am Main, page(s): 104
- Sysoev, A. V. & Schileyko, A. A. (2009). Land snails and slugs of Russia and adjacent countries. Sofia/Moskva (Pensoft). 312 pp., 142 plates
External links
- Simroth, H. (1902). Die Nacktschneckenfauna des Russischen Reiches. XII. St. Petersburg: Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. p. 50. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
- Lee, C.B. (1950). "Some new records for exotic slugs in the United States". The Nautilus. 64 (2): 58–59.
- Jacobson, M.K. (1951). "Two new molluscan records from the New York area". The Nautilus. 64 (3): 104.
- Getz, L.L. (1962). "Color forms of Arion subfuscus in New Hampshire". The Nautilus. 76 (2): 70–71.
- Getz, L.L. (1974). "Arion subfuscus in the vicinity of Washington, D.C." The Nautilus. 88 (2): 66.
- Blanchard, D. & Getz, L. L. (1979). "Arion subfuscus in southeastern Michigan". The Nautilus. 93 (1): 36–37.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)