| Limax cinereoniger | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Limacidae |
| Genus: | Limax |
| Species: | L. cinereoniger |
| Binomial name | |
| Limax cinereoniger Wolf, 1803 | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Limax alpinus Férussac, 1822 | |
Limax cinereoniger, the ash-black slug is a large species of air-breathing land slug in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc family Limacidae, the keelback slugs. This is the largest land slug species in the world. [3]
This slug is native to Europe. It is recorded in most of Europe, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic (where it is of least concern), [4] Italy, Netherlands, [5] Slovakia, Ireland, Great Britain, Finland, Ukraine, [6] and several other countries. [1] It occurs east as far as the Urals. It is common in much of its range, but mostly rare or absent in southernmost Europe. Although known from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, there are no records from Portugal or Greece. [1]
Juvenile ash-gray slugs are toffee brown. Adults are variable in color, including jet black, dark gray, pale gray and medium brown. A white to pale tan stripe runs along the long, prominent keel, and the foot sole of adults is pale in the middle with dark edges, wheres in juveniles it is all white. The tentacles are dark with black or brown spots. [7] This species can reach over 30cm [8] , though most adults are between 10 to 20cm. [3] [9] [10]
This species lives in ancient woodlands and occasionally parks, under dead leaves and logs. It feeds primarily on mushrooms and algae and is not considered a pest.
Parasites of Limax cinereoniger include nematodes of genus Elaphostrongylus [11] and Agfa flexilis . [12]
