Deroceras laeve

Family

Agriolimacidae

Species

Deroceras laeve (O.F. Muller, 1774)

Common name

Marsh slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
, Meadow slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
, Brown slug

Description

The meadow slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
is a small slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
approximately 25-35 mm long. It ranges in color from dark brown or yellowish to almost black, while the headHead:
The area of a mollusc's body that has the tentacles, eyes and mouth.
and tentaclesTentacles:
Sensory projections on the head end of a mollusc. There are generally two pairs; upper (posterior) and smaller, lower (anterior). The upper pair bears the eyes. In many snails the eyes are located at the tips of this structure; however, in Basommatophoran snail species, the eyes are located at the base of the tentacles.
posses a characteristic smoky, bluish black color. The overall body shape of the slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
is cylindrical, elongated and ends in a short keelKeel:
Also known as the carina. This is a longitudinal ridge that runs dorsally along the apex of the tail of the animal.
. The mantleMantle:
A fleshy, membranous covering of the anterior portion of the body of a mollusc. It secretes the materials that form the shell.
is oval in shape with fine concentric striationsStriations:
Having a series of stripes, grooves or lines.
without spots or blotches. The back of the slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
is covered with conspicuous elongated tuberclesTubercles:
An enlarged or raised region on the body of a slug. The shape of this structure is very variable. (See also tubercle)
and furrows. The footFoot:
The muscular organ on the undersurface of the body of a mollusc upon which the animal rests or uses to crawl.
is narrow and whitish in color and produces mucus that is thin, watery, non-adhesive and colorless. It may be possible to distinguish this species from D. panormitanum by the slope of the tail. The tail of this species is bluntly rounded, while the tail of D. panormitanum gradually tapers to a point. In order to confirm the identity of this species, dissection and observation of the genitaliaGenitalia:
The reproductive structures of an animal. May refer to either male or female structure.
are required.

Deroceras agreste. The penis (p) of this species is broad with only a single appendix.

Deroceras caucasicum: The penis is broad and has two appendixes at the tip with the vas deferens emerges between them. The posteriorPosterior:
Directional term: the rear or tail end of an animal.
edge of the penis is pigmented (dark-colored) and there is a hard "clam-shaped" shell-like plate inside the penis.

Deroceras laeve: The penis of this species is long, narrow and mostly twisted, with only a single appendix. It should be noted that a penis may be absent in some specimens.

Deroceras panormitanum: The penis in the species is broad and markedly bilobed with 4-6 appendixes.

Deroceras reticulatum: The penis (p) in the species is broad with only a single, irregularly branched appendix.

Native range

Holarctic

Distribution

North America:

• U. S.: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
• Canada: Newfoundland, British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec

Caribbean: Jamaica

Europe

South America

Asia: Sri Lanka

Pacific Islands: Hawaii

Australasia: New Zealand

Ecology

This species primarily inhabits moist habitats such as wet marshes, woods and meadows, and sometimes found in greenhouses. This species has the potential to become a garden pest as it consumes living and dead plant material. Deroceras laeve reproduces year round, and generally becomes more active approximately three weeks before other species in the spring. The animal reproduces by self-fertilizationSelf-fertilization:
This is an event where an organism is produced by the fertilization of an egg by sperm from the same organism. (See also hermaphrodite)
although outcrossing has been recorded. The round to oval eggs are laid in clutches of approximately 33 (often times much fewer). They measure between 1-3 mm, and often hatch in 10-15 days. The translucentTranslucent:
Allows light to pass through but prevents the ability to see distinct objects.
eggs are deposited in crevices in the soil or leaf litter. As the eggs mature, the color changes to a creamish color.

Synonyms

• Limax laevis Muller, 1774, Verm. Terr. Et fluv. Hist., 2: 2 (Denmark)
• L. gracilis Rafinesque, 1820, Ann. of Nat., 1: 10 (near Hendersonville, Kentucky, in woods).
• L. campestris A. Binney, 1842, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H., 1:52 (New England States, New York, Ohio, Missouri): 1842, Bost. Jour. N. H., 4:169; 1851, Terr. Moll., 2:41, pl.64, fig. 3.
• L. weinlandi Heynemann, 1862, Zeits. F. Malak., 10: 212, pl. 3, fig. 1 (North America)
• L. campestris var. occidentalis Cooper, 1872, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p.146, pl. 3, figs. C, 1-5 (California); Cf. W. G. binney, Terr. Moll., 5: 150, pl. 1, fig. L; 3d Suppl., Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 19: 206, pl. 8, fig. H (living animal).
• L. montanus Ingersoll, 1875, Bull. U. S. Geol. And Geogr. Surv. Terr., (2) no. 1: 130 (Hot Sulphur Springs, Colo.); W.G. Binney, 1878, Terr. Moll., 5:152, pl. xii, fig. B (genitalia). Not Limax monotanus Leydig, 1871.
• L. costaneus Ingersoll, 1875, 1.c., p. 131. (Blue River vally, Colorado)
• L. ingersolli W.G. Binney, 1875, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 176; Ann. Lyc. N. H. of N. Y., 10: 169.
• L. hyperboreus [? Westerleund, 1876, Nachrbl. D. Malak. Ges., 8:97; 1877, K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 14, no. 12, pl. 21
• Agriolimax montanus Ing., Cockerell, 1888, Jour. of Conch., 5: 358, with forms typicus, intermedius and tristis, p. 359.
• Limax hemphili W.G. Binney, 1890, 3d Suppl., Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 19: 205, pl. viii, fig. E; pl I, fig. 13; pl. ii, fig. 3; 1892, 4th Suppl., Bull. M.C.Z. 22: 166, pl.3, fig. I. with var. pictus.
• Agriolimax campestris zonatipes Cockerell, 1892, The Conchologist. 2: 72.
• Agriolimax hemphilli ashmuni Pilsbry & Vanatta, in Pilsbry & Ferriss, 1910. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. For 1909, 61: 512, fig. 11 a-c (Huachuca Mts., Arizona, in Miller (type loc.), Brown and Tanner canyons and Nogales, Arizona; Pilsbry & Ferris, 1910 same Proc, 62: 130 (Chiricahua Mts., Arizona, at about 8000 ft.).
• Agriolimax psudodioicus Velitchkovsky, 1910.
• Deroceras schulzi Tzvetkov et Matyokin, 1946.

References

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Branson, B.A. 1959. Notes on Oklahoma slugs, with additions to the previously known fauna. The Southwestern Naturalist 4: 143-147.; Branson 1962Branson 1962:
Branson, B.A. 1962. The slugs (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) of Oklahoma and Kansas with New Records. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 65(2): 110-119.; Branson 1980Branson 1980:
Branson, B. A. 1980. The recent Gastropoda of Oklahoma, part VIII. The slug families Limacidae, Arionidae, Veronicellidae and Philomycidae. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 60: 29-35.; Cowie 1997Cowie 1997:
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Kerney, M.P., R.A.D. Cameron and G. Riley. 1979. A field guide to the land snails of Britain and North-west Europe. Collins, London. pp. 288.; Meyer and Cowie 2010; Naggs et al. 2003Naggs et al. 2003:
Naggs, F., D.C. Raheem, P.B. Mordan, B. Grimm, K.B. Ranawana and N.P.S. Kumburegama. 2003. Ancient relicts and contemporary exotics: faunal change and survivorship in Sri Lanka’s snail fauna. Slug and Snails: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Perspectives. BCPC Symposium Proceedings 80: 103-108.; Perez and Cordeiro 2008; Pilsbry 1939Pilsbry 1939:
Pilsbry, H. A. 1939. Land Mollusca of North America north of Mexico vol. I part 1. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. pp. 1-574.; Rosenberg and Muratov 2006Rosenberg and Muratov 2006:
Rosenberg, G. and I.V. Muratov. 2006. Status report on the terrestrial Mollusca of Jamaica. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 155: 117-161.; Wiktor 2000