| Letourneuxia nyctelia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Arionidae |
| Genus: | Letourneuxia |
| Species: | L. nyctelia |
| Binomial name | |
| Letourneuxia nyctelia (Bourguignat, 1861) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Letourneuxia nyctelia is a species of terrestrial slug, a gastropod mollusc, belonging to the family Arionidae. [3]
For many years this species was known as Letourneuxia numidica, described by Bourguignat from Algeria. [2] The other species of Letourneuxia were synonymised with L. numidica by Wiktor. [3] These included Letourneuxia moreleti, which Castillejo [4] considered instead to be a species of Geomalacus (criticised by [5] ).
In 2022 it was proposed that Bourguignat's 1861 description of Limax nyctelius [1] referred to a juvenile of the same species that he described five years later as Letourneuxia numidica. [5] The forward position of the pneumostome is not known in any other North African species, and the stripes match. So the name of this species has now become Letourneuxia nyctelia (Bourguignat, 1861). [6] The lectotype has been designated as the specimen in the illustration referred to in the original species description. [7] [5]
The species is known only from Algeria and Morocco. It has been found mostly in woodland and scrub. [3] [8]
Maximum length is 65 mm. As with other arionids, the pneumostome is in the front part of the mantle and the tail is rounded without a keel. The colour is tawny brown with darker longitudinal stripes along the back and side. The sole is divided into three parts, with the central part only a third the width of each side part. There is an internal shell plate. Unlike in the other arionid genera Arion and Geomalacus , an epiphallus is lacking. [3] [8] Like with Geomalacus, the chromosome number is n = 31. [9]
Limax is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae.
Geomalacus is a genus of large air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
Deroceras panormitanum is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae.
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly sea slugs and semi-slugs.
Ambigolimax valentianus is a species of terrestrial slug, a pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Limacidae.
Geomalacus malagensis is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Arionidae, the round back slugs.
Letourneuxia is a genus of large air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
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.
Ariunculus is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. Sometimes it has been considered as a subgenus of Arion, and sometimes the subgenus Ichnusarion has been raised to generic rank.
Ambigolimax is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the family Limacidae, the keelback slugs.
The name Ambigolimax nyctelius has been used to refer to several species of air-breathing land slugs in the family Limacidae. An article published in 2022 revealed this confusion and furthermore showed that the original description applied to a slug species in a different family. The above names are therefore no longer appropriate and care is need to interpret the meaning of earlier usages.
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.
Ambigolimax parvipenis is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the Limacidae.
Ambigolimax waterstoni is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Limacidae.
Lehmannia carpatica is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Limacidae.