Red triangle slug | |
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Two individuals of the green form of Triboniophorus graeffei, in the forest in Chatswood West, New South Wales. The slug on the right is starting to become active, the other is in the contracted state. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
Order: | Stylommatophora |
Superfamily: | Athoracophoroidea |
Family: | Athoracophoridae |
Subfamily: | Aneitinae |
Genus: | Triboniophorus |
Species: | T. graeffei |
Binomial name | |
Triboniophorus graeffei | |
The red triangle slug (Triboniophorus graeffei) is a species of large air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Athoracophoridae, the leaf-veined slugs.
This large (up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in)), often colorful and striking-looking species is found in eastern Australia. It is Australia's largest native land slug. [2] It is a common part of the fauna.
Triboniophorus graeffei is the type species of the genus Triboniophorus . [3] A closely related species is the as-yet-unnamed Triboniophorus sp. nov. 'Kaputar'.
This slug species occurs on the east coast of Australia, from New South Wales to Queensland. [4]
An affiliated bright pink species, Triboniophorus aff. graeffei , are found exclusively on Mount Kaputar. [5]
Solem (1959) [3] mentioned a possible introduction of this species to the New Hebrides, but no material was available to confirm it.
Red triangle slugs are found in damp situations in various habitats, including city gardens, forests, woodland and heaths. [2]
These slugs graze on algae which grows on the surface of the smooth bark of some eucalyptus trees and on rocks. Sometimes the slugs enter houses [4] and have been known to graze on the mold that grows on bathroom walls. [2] [6]
This species of slug has been found to have an unusual defensive mechanism. It can secrete a kind of sticky mucus (different from the slippery slime secreted when it moves) that is strong enough to glue predators down for days. The glue is strongest in wet conditions and becomes less sticky as it dries. The cells responsible for secreting the glue are located across the dorsal surface. [7]
Red triangle slugs have two, not four, tentacles, and like other leaf-vein slugs, they have an indented pattern on their dorsum which resembles that of a leaf. The body length is up to 14 cm.
They are very variable in color. Individual slugs can be white, off-white, yellow, dark or light grey, beige, pink, red, or olive green. [4] Each of the color forms have a red (possibly orange, magenta, or maroon) triangle on the mantle surrounding the pneumostome, and a red line at the edge of the foot. The texture of the dorsum of the slug can be smooth or very rough.
Juveniles lack the typical red foot border and red triangle of the adults but have three dark grey stripes running down the dorsal surface of their body and have the triangular mantle shield outlined with grey. [8]
Research is currently being carried out in an attempt to determine if some of the different colourations may actually represent different species or subspecies. [4]
Various shots of Triboniophorus graeffei on the bark of Sydney Blue Gums, near Dungog, Australia, showing color variation, varying degrees of contraction and body shape.
The Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located 50 km (31 mi) east of Narrabri and 570 km (354 mi) northwest of Sydney. Millions of years of erosion have since carved the volcanic region into the lava terraces, volcanic plugs, and dykes of Nandewar Range. The central feature of the region is Mount Kaputar, the park's namesake, which rises to an altitude of 1,510 m (4,954 ft). The 360 degree view from the summit of the mountain encompasses one-tenth of New South Wales' area or 80,000 square kilometres (31,000 sq mi).
Banana slugs are North American terrestrial slugs comprising the genus Ariolimax.
The clade Anaspidea, commonly known as sea hares, are medium-sized to very large opisthobranch gastropod molluscs with a soft internal shell made of protein. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamilies Aplysioidea and Akeroidea.
Heteractis magnifica, also known by the common names magnificent sea anemone or Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the Stichodactylidae family native to the Indo-Pacific area.
The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.
Limax maximus, known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs. It is among the largest keeled slugs, Limax cinereoniger being the largest.
Premnas biaculeatus, commonly known as spine-cheeked anemonefish or the maroon clownfish, is a species of anemonefish found in the Indo-Pacific from western Indonesia to Taiwan and the Great Barrier Reef. They can grow up to be about 17 cm (6.7 in). Like all anemonefishes it forms a symbiotic mutualism with sea anemones and is unaffected by the stinging tentacles of the host anemone. It is a sequential hermaphrodite with a strict size-based dominance hierarchy; the female is largest, the breeding male is second largest, and the male nonbreeders get progressively smaller as the hierarchy descends. They exhibit protandry, meaning the breeding male changes to female if the sole breeding female dies, with the largest nonbreeder becoming the breeding male. The fish's natural diet includes algae and zooplankton.
The sebae anemone, also known as leathery sea anemone, long tentacle anemone, or purple tip anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the family Stichodactylidae and native to the Indo-Pacific area.
Arion fuscus, also known as the "dusky arion", is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug is a species of terrestrial, pulmonate, gastropod mollusc. It is a medium-to-large sized, air-breathing land slug in the family of roundback slugs, Arionidae.
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.
Arion fasciatus, also known by its common name the Orange-banded Arion, is a species of air-breathing, completely shell-less, land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the round-back slugs. The species was first described by Sven Nilsson in 1823.
Arion hortensis, also known by its common name the "garden slug", "small striped slug" or "black field slug" is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
Triboniophorus is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the family Athoracophoridae, the leaf-veined slugs.
Phyllidia varicosa is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Phyllidiidae.
Geomalacus malagensis is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Arionidae, the round back slugs.
Snail slime (mucopolysaccharide) is a kind of mucus produced by snails, which are gastropod mollusks. Land snails and slugs both produce mucus, as does every other kind of gastropod, from marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. The reproductive system of gastropods also produces mucus internally from special glands.
Pearsonothuria is a genus of sea cucumbers in the family Holothuriidae. Pearsonothuria graeffei is the only species in the genus. Graeffe's sea cucumber is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean and the type locality is Viti Island, Fiji. It is named after Eduard Heinrich Graeffe, Semper's coworker at the Museum Godeffroy.
Triboniophorus sp. nov. 'Kaputar', also known as Triboniophorus aff. graeffei, or the Mount Kaputar pink slug, is a species of giant air-breathing land slug with a distinctive hot pink hue. These slugs are found on Mount Kaputar in Australia. Taxonomists have confirmed that these slugs are not conspecific with the better-known "red triangle slug", Triboniophorus graeffei.
Thuridilla vataae is a species of sacoglossan sea slug, a shell-less marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the family Plakobranchidae. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific. It was first described by the French zoologist Jean Risbec in 1928; its specific name refers to the Bay of Anse Vata, just south of Nouméa, New Caledonia, where the type specimen was collected.
Photographs on the life history etc.:
Photographs of the various different color forms: