Philomycus virginicus
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philomycus virginicus, common name Virginia mantleslug, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Philomycidae.
| Philomycus virginicus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Philomycidae |
| Genus: | Philomycus |
| Species: | P. virginicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Philomycus virginicus Hubricht, 1953 | |
Description and anatomy
These slugs are large at 50-100mm long, and their mantle covers the entire upper side of their bodies. They create and use love darts as part of their mating behavior.[1]
Ecology
Range
These slugs are distributed from Virginia to Tennessee and west to Eastern Kentucky. In Virginia they are found from the Blue Ridge Mountains through the Ridge and Valley.[1] This slug is rated vulnerable by NatureServe in Virginia, Imperiled in Tennessee and West Virginia, and Critically Imperiled in North Carolina