Veronicellidae

Leatherleaf slugs
Live individual of Veronicella sloanei
Live individual of Laevicaulis alte
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Systellommatophora
Superfamily:	Veronicelloidea
Family:	Veronicellidae (Gray, 1840) [1]
Type genus
Veronicella
Genera
See text
Synonyms
Vaginulidae (Martens, 1866) Meisenheimeriinae (Hoffmann, 1925) Sarasinulinae (Hoffmann, 1925) Semperulinae (Hoffmann, 1925) Imeriniinae (Hoffmann, 1928) Pseudoverocinellinae (Hoffmann, 1928)

The Veronicellidae, also known by their common name the leatherleaf slugs, are a family of pulmonate terrestrial slugs.

The herbivorous molluscs occur mainly in the tropical and subtropical areas of America, Asia, and Africa.

They act as intermediate hosts of the rat lung worm Angiostrongylus costaricensis , and act as a vector for other human diseases.^{[ citation needed ]} They also cause significant damage to crops. ^[2]

In April 2013, family Veronicellidae was separated into six genera of concern according to the CAPS priority pest list. These genera include: Belocaulus,Colosius, Laevicaulis, Sarasinula, Semperula, and Veronicella.

Description

The dorsal surface of these slugs is entirely covered by the mantle or hyponota. These mollusks have a posterior located anus, eyes on contractile (not retractile) tentacles, and no lung or pulmonary organ. In these aspects, they are anatomically distinct from most other types of terrestrial slugs, which typically belong to the order Stylommatophora, and which have a forward located anus, and retractile tentacles.

The closely related members of the family Onchidiidae differ from the Veronicellidae by having a pulmonary sac, or lung. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Distribution

Most Veronicellidae occur within their own biogeographic regions. However, some are widespread and potentially invasive, due to their facilitated movement by human activities. Drier conditions can inhibit their invasive range. However, some slugs, such as Sarasinula cubensis, have been observed to be larger and reach reproductive maturity quicker when inside their warmer, invasive range. Members of the family can be found in the Central African Republic, Kenya, Cameroon, tropical West Africa, Mexico, ^[6] the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thailand, southern Asia, southern China, Taiwan, Cuba, the Highland Rainforests of Puerto Rico, ^[7] Florida, Dominica, ^[8] Hawaii, ^[9] the islands of the Indian Ocean, Australia, Samoa and Guyana. ^[10]

Life cycle

Veronicellidae produce small, translucent eggs clustered in moist soil. These slugs are known to deposit a special soil fecal material on top of their eggs to prevent desiccation of the eggs. They can lay multiple clutches during their reproductive period in the warmer months. Eggs are laid on stones, burrowed under the soil, and on decaying vegetation. In India, mating season generally occurs during the rainy season due to the moist conditions.

Based on current research, Laevicaulis egg incubation is 10–19 days, oviposition period averages 23 days, and they produce an average of 47 eggs per clutch. They can produce about 5 clutches during the reproductive period each year. Sexual maturity is reached between 53–115 days after hatching, and their lifespan is 127–188 days.

Genera

The Veronicellidae family has no subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).

Genera within the family Veronicellidae include:

• Angustipes Colosi, 1922 ^[11]
• Belocaulus Hoffmann, 1925 ^[12]
• Colosius Thomé, 1975 ^[12]
• Diplosolenodes Thome, 1976 ^{[11] [12] [13]}
• Filicaulis Simroth, 1913 ^[14]
• Heterovaginina ^[12]
• Imerinia Cockerell, 1891
• Laevicaulis Simroth, 1913 ^{[11] [12]}
• Latipes ^[12]
• Leidyula H. B. Baker, 1925 ^{[11] [12] [13] [15]}
• Phyllocaulis Colosi, 1922 ^{[12] [15]}
• Potamojanuarius Thomé, 1975
• Sarasinula Grimpe & Hoffmann, 1924 ^{[11] [12] [15]}
• Sarasomia ^[11]
• Simrothula Thomé, 1975 ^[12]
  • Simrothula paraensis Gomes, Picanco, Mendes & Thome, 2006 ^[16]
• Vaginula Fischer, 1871 ^[17]
  • Vaginula rodericensis ^[18]
• Vaginulus Férussac, 1829 ^[12]
• Veronicella de Blainville, 1817 ^{[11] [12]} - the type genus

References

1. Gray J. E. (1840). Synopsis of the contents of the British Museum, ed. 42, p. 126, p. 149.
2. Speiser, B (2002). "Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland" (PDF).
3. "Palaeos Metazoa: Mollusca: Pulmonata: Systellommatophora". Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2007. Systellommatophora at Palaeos
4. "Integrated Taxonomic Information System: Veronicellidae". Archived from the original on 2008-10-11.
5. "Univ. Michigan Animal Diversity: Veronicellidae" . Retrieved 2024-01-01.
6. "A review of the Veronicellidae from Mexico (Gastropoda: Soleolifera)" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-01-01.
7. (in Spanish) Aguayo C. G. (1965). "Sobre el status de Veronicella portoricensis (Mollusca Pulmonata)". Caribbean Journal of Science 5(1-2): 25-28. PDF Archived October 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine .
8. Robinson D. G., Hovestadt A., Fields A. & Breure A. S. H. (July 2009). "The land Mollusca of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), with notes on some enigmatic or rare species". Zoologische Mededelingen 83 http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/83/nr03/a13 Archived 2011-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Comprehensive Report Species - Laevicaulis alte". Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
10. Baker, H. Burrington (1926). "Veronicellidae from British Guiana". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 78: 29–34. JSTOR   4063950.
11. "Veronicellidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
12. Thomé J. W., dos Santos P. H. & Pedott L. (1997). "Annotated list of Veronicellidae from the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the National Museum of Natural History". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 110(4): 520-536.
13. (in Spanish) Pérez A. M., Sotelo M., Arana I. & López A. (2008). "Diversidad de moluscos gasterópodos terrestres en la región del Pacífico de Nicaragua y sus preferencias de hábitat". Rev. Biol. Trop. 56(1): 317-332,. PDF
14. Wai Hoong, Ho (1995). "A Review Of The Land Snail Fauna Of Singapore". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 43 (1): 91–113.
15. Naranjo-García E., Thomé J. W. & Castillejo J. (2007). "A review of the Veronicellidae from Mexico (Gastropoda: Soleolifera). Revisión de los Veronicellidae de México (Gastropoda: Soleolifera)". Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 78: 41-50."
16. "WoRMS : Simrothula Thomé". World Register of Marine Species. 1975. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
17. Maceira F., David (2003). "Las especies de la familia Veronicellidae (Mollusca, Soleolifera) en Cuba" (PDF). Rev. Biol. Trop. 51 (3): 453–461. Retrieved 2 November 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
18. Smith (1876). "Vaginula rodericensis". World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Retrieved 2024-01-01.

External links

• Video of Veronicellid slug of Laos
• Terrestrial Slugs of Florida on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site