Krynickillus melanocephalus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Order: | Stylommatophora |
Family: | Agriolimacidae |
Genus: | Krynickillus |
Species: | K. melanocephalus |
Binomial name | |
Krynickillus melanocephalus Kaleniczenko , 1851 [1] | |
Krynickillus melanocephalus is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae. [2] It is an invasive species, spreading from regions around the Black Sea to Northern and Central Europe.
The species resembles in form other agriolimacid slugs (notably Deroceras ), so has the pneumostome in the rear half of the mantle and a tapering tail without a marked keel. However, it grows larger than Deroceras species (60 mm or occasionally more). The most distinctive feature is the deep black tentacles, head, and nape, with the dark colouration still visible under the front of the mantle. The congener Krynickillus urbanskii (Wiktor, 1971), occurring in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, has a paler black head and a pale nape. [3] [4]
The natural range of Krynickillus melanocephalus is the Caucasus, Crimea, eastern Turkey and northern Iran. [5] [6] It has been introduced more widely within Europe: further parts of Ukraine (e.g. Kyiv), [7] further parts of Russia (Moscow, Novgorod and Tverskaya oblasts), [8] Germany (since 1994), [9] Latvia (since 1997), [10] [11] Belarus (since 2009), [12] Sweden (since 2015), [6] Lithuania (since 2017), [13] Finland (since 2017), [6] Hungary (since 2019), [4] Slovakia (since 2020), [14] Poland (since 2022), [15] and Estonia. [6]
In its introduced range the species becomes adult in autumn and dies off in winter. It has spread from gardens to adjacent habitats, including woodland and meadows. Although it has sometimes been reported as a pest of crops, others have suggested that a diet of algae, fallen fruit, and fungi makes it less of a threat. [6] In its native range this is a forest species. [3] In experiments, slugs laid far more eggs in leaf litter than in moss, soil or gravel. [16]
The Spanish slug is an air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. Other vernacular names are Lusitanian slug, Iberian slug, and killer slug.
Deroceras praecox is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.
Deroceras laeve, the marsh slug, is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.
Deroceras turcicum is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae.
Deroceras juranum is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.
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.
Limacus maculatus, the green cellar slug or Irish yellow slug, is a species of slug native to the Caucasus and Black Sea coast. It has also been introduced to a number of northern European countries. In its introduced range the species is often synanthropic. It is most likely to be confused with Limacus flavus, which it closely resembles externally.
Tandonia kusceri is a species of slug belonging to the family Milacidae.
Andrzej Wiktor (1931–2018) was a Polish taxonomist of terrestrial slugs. His considerable research output includes a number of comprehensive reviews that document the slug faunas of particular countries or revise the taxonomy of whole families. He worked for almost all of his career at the Museum of Natural History, University of Wrocław in Poland.
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: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)