|
Post by cryptophage on Sept 19, 2015 22:36:34 GMT
I have been keeping some slugs which I found near cacti in my house. I am in Leeds, England and have been unable to find any native species that look like these slugs. I was wondering if any of you might be able to help in identifying them. Sorry about the poor lighting in my photos. I thought perhaps they might be from the Ambigolimax genus since many of them (such as the one at the bottom of the last photo) have a pattern with two stripes similar to some slugs in the Ambigolimax genus - such as this slug: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slug#/media/File:Ambigolimax.jpg They also have a distinctive curved ridge pattern on their mantles that can be seen in my first photo and can also be seen in that wikipedia photo. ![](http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag118/Cryptophage/Slug1_zpsflouipv1.jpg) ![](http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag118/Cryptophage/Slug2_zpsgfyzg9la.jpg) ![](http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag118/Cryptophage/Slug3_zpsxwmirp1a.jpg) ![](http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag118/Cryptophage/Slug4_zps0yf9zpsy.jpg)
|
|
mangoandlemon
Achatina tincta
Animals are not a choice for me. They are a lifestyle!
Posts: 671
|
Post by mangoandlemon on Sept 19, 2015 23:34:01 GMT
They look like lepard slugs, however I am not sure. Good luck with them!
|
|
Cashell
Archachatina puylaerti
![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_blue.png) ![*](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/stars/star_blue.png)
Posts: 1,124
|
Post by Cashell on Sept 19, 2015 23:56:05 GMT
I'm no slug expert, but they do remind of leopard slugs.
|
|
|
Post by moon on Sept 20, 2015 9:32:03 GMT
Yes, leopard slugs.
I live in the UK too and have loads of them in my garden. They are really greedy and steal all my snail's food!
|
|
|
Post by cryptophage on Sept 20, 2015 9:32:24 GMT
At first I thought they might be juvenile leopard slugs (They are only around 4cm long and so less than half the size of an adult leopard slug) but if that is the case it is a little odd that I have not seen any adult leopard slugs. What appears to be slug eggs have also appeared but then I suppose they could have reached sexual maturity before being fully grown?
|
|
|
Post by cryptophage on Sept 21, 2015 16:23:53 GMT
Thank you for your comments. I am now almost certain they are not leopard slugs for two reasons - leopard slugs have a life span of 2.5-3 years and reach sexual maturity at 2 years, at which point they would be fully grown. My slugs are well below leopard slug size, despite being sexually mature, and do not have quite the right markings to be adult leopard slugs. Secondly, they have laid another batch of eggs, and all the eggs have a diameter of around 2mm, whereas leopard slugs have eggs with around a 5mm diameter.
I am therefore now favouring the view that they are an Ambigolimax species, perhaps most likely nyctelius or valentianus, which are widespread in the UK, albeit non-native.
|
|
|
Post by giantsouthamerican2n on Sept 22, 2015 4:50:57 GMT
Yep. Looks like Limax maximus (leopard slugs.) They're really fun to keep. Had one named Bob for awhile. Have fun! cryptophage
|
|