Veronicellidae: Sarasinula spp.

Family

Veronicellidae

Species

Sarasinula plebeia (Fischer, 1871)

S. dubia (Semper, 1885)

S. marginata (Semper, 1885)

Common name

Sarasinula plebeia: Caribbean leatherleaf slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
, Bean slug

S. dubia: None reported.

S. marginata: None reported.

Description

Sarasinula plebeia: This species is grey-brown with small black markings. It can attain a maximum length of 70 mm. The Caribbean leatherleaf slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
can be mistaken for the Florida leatherleaf slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
(Veronicella aff. floridana), but S. plebeia can be distinguished by the location of the female genital pore (away from the footFoot:
The muscular organ on the undersurface of the body of a mollusc upon which the animal rests or uses to crawl.
) and the absence of the pale medianMedian:
Along the central line or axis.
line down the back of the animal.

Native range

Sarasinula plebeia: Brazil and the West Indies

Distribution

Sarasinula plebeia:

North America:

• U.S.: Florida

South and Central America

Pacific Islands: New Caledonia

Caribbean: Dominica, Jamaica, Grenadines (Canouan)

S. marginata:

South America: Brazil, Peru, Columbia

Caribbean: Dominica, Guadeloupe

Ecology

Sarasinula plebeia: This is a serious pest of agriculture in Central America. In South America this slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
consumes legume pods and flowers, as well as the foliage of beans, sweet potato, cabbage, Cucurbita sp., tomato, coffee, weedy species in the genus Borreria, and the fruit of papaya. In many cases, this pest species has been known to eat young plants to the ground on farms. Plant nurseries that grow tree species like mahogany and red cedar have also been affected by this species. This slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
can transmit the nematode Angiostrongylus costaricensis, which is pathogenic to humans.

Sarasinula plebeia can bury itself in the soil to a depth of up to 100 cm in order to protect itself from desiccation during the dry season. In Texas it has shown the potential to survive sub-freezing temperatures. This hermaphroditicHermaphroditic:
State of having both male and female reproductive organs. (See also Hermaphrodite)
slugs can reproduce 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)
. It can lay up to 80 eggs per clutch. The oval, translucentTranslucent:
Allows light to pass through but prevents the ability to see distinct objects.
eggs have an incubation time of 20-24 days at 27 degrees Celsius. Adulthood can be attained in 2-5 months and the adults can live for more than a year.

S. marginata: This species has been reported to feed on dasheen (Colocasia esculenta) in the field. This slugSlug:
A snail that either does not possess a shell or has one that is very reduced (no definite coiling) or internal.
is a minor pest of agriculture in Dominica. The genitaliaGenitalia:
The reproductive structures of an animal. May refer to either male or female structure.
may be used to distinguish this species from Sarasinula plebeia and S. dubia.

Synonyms

Sarasinula plebeia:

• Sarasinula dubia (Semper)
• Vaginulus plebeius Fischer, 1868 in Fischer, 1868. Diagnoses de deux Limaciens de la Nouvelle Caledonie. Journal de Conchyliologie, Paris. 16: 145-146.
• Vaginula plebeja Fischer, 1868 in Aguayo, 1964. Notas sobre la distribucion de la babosa Vaginulus plebejus, Mollusca: Veronicellidae. Caribbean Journal of Science. 4: 549-551.
• Sarsinula plebeja Grimpe and Hoffmn, 1925 in Thome, 1971. Redescricao dos tipos de Veronicellidae (Mollusca, GastropodGastropod:
  A single-shelled mollusc.
  ) neotropicais: VII especies depositadas no Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, Franca. Iheringia (Zool.) 40: 27-52.
• Vaginula behni Semper, 1885 in Thome, 1989. Annotated and illustrated preliminary list of the Veronicellidae (Mollusca: GastropodGastropod:
  A single-shelled mollusc.
  ) of the Antilles, and Central and North America. Journal of Medical and Applied MalacologyMalacology:
  The study of molluscs.
  . 1: 11-28.
• Sarasinula lemei Thome, 1967 inThome, 1989. Annotated and illustrated preliminary list of the Veronicellidae (Mollusca: GastropodGastropod:
  A single-shelled mollusc.
  ) of the Antilles, and Central and North America. Journal of Medical and Applied MalacologyMalacology:
  The study of molluscs.
  . 1: 11-28.
• Sarasinula plebeia Thome, 1993 in Thome, et al. 1997, Annotataed list of Veronicellidae from the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. (Mollusca: Gatropoda: Soleolifera). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 110: 520-536.
• Angustipes dubia
• Angustipes dubius
• Angustipes plebeius
• Imerimia plebeja
• Sarasomia plebeia
• Vaginula dubia
• Vaginula moerchi
• Vaginula plebeius
• Vaginulus dubius
• Vaginulus plebejus
• Vernicella plebeius
• Viginula dubia
• Viginula moerchi
  

References

Cowie et al. 2008Cowie et al. 2008:
Cowie, R.H., K.A. Hayes, C.T. Chuong, T.Tran and W.M. Meyer III. 2008. The horticultural industry as a vector of alien snails and slugs: widespread invasions in Hawaii. International Journal of Pest Management 54(4): 267-276.; Naranjo-García et al. 2007Naranjo-García et al. 2007:
Naranjo-García, E., J. Thomé and J. Castillejo. 2007. A review of the Veronicellidae from Mexico (Gastropoda: Soleolifera). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad. 78: 41-50.; Robinson et al. 2009Robinson et al. 2009:
Robinson, D.G., Hovestadt, A., Fields, A. and Breure, A.S.H. 2009. The land Mollusca of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), with notes on some enigmatic or rare species. Zoologische Mededelingen 83: 615-650.; 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.; Rueda et al. 2004; Sloem 1964Sloem 1964:
Sloem, A. 1964. New records of New Caledonian nonmarine mollusks and an analysis of the introduced mollusks. Pacific Science 18: 130-137.; Thome 1989Thome 1989:
Thome, J.W. 1989. Annotated and illustrated preliminary list of the Veronicellidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of the Antilles, and Central and North America. Journal of Medical and Applied Malacology. 1: 11-28.