Arion intermedius

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Arion intermedius
Arion intermedius 4988928.jpg
A. intermedius showing characteristically prickley tubercles
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Heterobranchia
Order: Stylommatophora
Family: Arionidae
Genus: Arion
Species:
A. intermedius
Binomial name
Arion intermedius
Normand, 1852
Synonyms [2]

Arion verrucosusBrevière, 1881

Arion intermedius is a species of land slug in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. [2] It is known commonly as the hedgehog slug, [2] [3] [4] hedgehog arion, [2] and hedgehog arion slug. [5]

Contents

Distribution

It is native to Western Europe and a part of Central Europe. It is native to Czechia where majority of its records come from various types of forests. [6] It is non-native to Slovakia since 2020. [6] It is known as an introduced species in many other regions, including North America, Australia, New Zealand, North Africa, South Africa, and the Pacific Islands. [5]

Description

This slug is 1.5 to 2 centimeters long. It is variable in color and patterning, being white, orange, or gray, with or without banding, and it has gray tentacles and a yellow or orange sole. It becomes compact and "nearly bell-shaped" when contracted. [4] The tubercles that texture the dorsal surface of its body taper to sharp, prickle-like points, inspiring the common name hedgehog slug. [4]

Biology

This species occurs in natural habitat such as grasslands and forests, and on cultivated or otherwise human-altered land, such as pastures, orchards, and hedges. [5] It feeds on plants and fungi. [7]

For a long time, this hermaphroditic slug was thought to reproduce only by self-fertilization; solitary captive specimens produced offspring and the species had never been observed mating. Genetic analysis provided evidence of crossing and the species is now believed to have a mixed breeding system, with an individual having the ability to fertilize itself or cross-fertilize, exchanging sperm with a mate. [8]

In the wild it has one generation per year (univoltine), with all individuals maturing rather synchronously in autumn. [9] Adults die over winter or early spring. [10] [9]

As a pest

This is not considered to be a severe pest, but some reports of such problems have been made. [7] While most exotic slugs and snails are often found in altered environments, this species has a greater tendency to invade natural habitat, such as forests. Its ability to self-fertilize allows a single individual to enter new habitat and then reproduce. [11] It is also known as a pest of clover-seeded pastures in New Zealand. [12]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish slug</span> Species of gastropod

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<i>Arion distinctus</i> Species of gastropod

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<i>Deroceras reticulatum</i> Species of gastropod

Deroceras reticulatum, common names the "grey field slug", "grey garden slug", and "milky slug", is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae. This species is an important agricultural pest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry slug</span> Species of mollusc

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<i>Arion hortensis</i> Species of gastropod

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<i>Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita</i> Species of roundworm

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<i>Deroceras invadens</i> Species of gastropod

Deroceras invadens is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae. Until 2011, this widely distributed species was known as Deroceras panormitanum, and earlier as Deroceras caruanae or Agriolimax caruanae, but Reise et al. (2011) showed that these names refer to a distinct species of similar external appearance known at that time only from Sicily and Malta. Consequently, although the more widespread species was already well known, it then had to be redescribed under the new name of D. invadens. Genetic evidence has indicated that D. invadens is native in southern Italy, including parts of Sicily, and possibly parts of central Italy. Elsewhere it has been introduced, predominantly within the last 100 years, but its spread has been constrained by cold winter temperatures.

References

  1. Rowson, B. (2017). "Arion intermedius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T171636A1329211. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T171636A1329211.en . Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bieler R, Bouchet P, Gofas S, Marshall B, Rosenberg G, La Perna R, Neubauer TA, Sartori AF, Schneider S, Vos C, ter Poorten JJ, Taylor J, Dijkstra H, Finn J, Bank R, Neubert E, Moretzsohn F, Faber M, Houart R, Picton B, Garcia-Alvarez O, eds. (2024). "Arion intermedius Normand, 1852". MolluscaBase. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. Arion intermedius Normand. Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine CSIRO & Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 2004.
  4. 1 2 3 Arion (Kobeltia) intermedius Normand, 1852 (hedgehog slug). MolluscIreland. National Museums Northern Ireland, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 "Arion intermedius Hedgehog Arion Slug". NatureServe. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Čejka, Tomáš; Beran, Luboš; Coufal, Radovan; Dvořák, Libor; Hlaváč, Jaroslav Č; Horáčková, Jitka; Horsáková, Veronika; Juřičková, Lucie; Kosová, Tereza; Čačaný, Juraj; Szabóová, Dana (2021-09-16). "Malacological news from the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2020" (PDF). Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 20: 56–74. doi: 10.5817/MaB2021-20-56 . ISSN   1336-6939.
  7. 1 2 Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California. Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. University of California. 2009.
  8. Jordaens, K.; Van Houte, N.; Helsen, P.; Breugelmans, K.; Jaksons, P.; Backeljau, t. (2013). "Mixed breeding system in the hermaphroditic land slug Arion intermedius (Stylommatophora, Arionidae)". Hereditas. 150 (4–6): 45–52. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-5223.2013.02272.x . hdl: 10067/1157380151162165141 . PMID   24164457.
  9. 1 2 Hutchinson, J.M.C.; Reise, H.; Skujienė, G. (2017). "Life cycles and adult sizes of five co-occurring species of Arion slugs". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 83: 88–105. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyw042 .
  10. Bohan, D.A.; Glen, D.M.; Wiltshire, C.W.; Hughes, L. (2000). "Parametric intensity and the spatial arrangement of the terrestrial mollusc herbivores Deroceras reticulatum and Arion intermedius". Journal of Animal Ecology. 69 (6): 1031–1046. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2000.00459.x .
  11. CáDiz, Francisco J; Gallardo, Carlos S (2007). "Arion intermedius (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora): first record of this introduced slug in Chile, with notes on its anatomy and natural history". Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. 80 (1): 99–108. doi:10.4067/S0716-078X2007000100008.
  12. Barker, G. M. (1989). Slug problems in New Zealand pastoral agriculture. Monograph-British Crop Protection Council (41), 59–68.