Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [URDU] from n20 structure Watch Video

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✓ Published: 06-May-2024

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#TropicalLeatherleaf<br/>#Slugs<br/>#SlugsofPakistan<br/>#WildlifeofPakistan<br/>#AhmadNetix<br/><br/>Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [URDU]<br/><br/>Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc.<br/>The word slug is used for any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a much-reduced shell, or only a small internal shell.<br/>Slugs’ bodies are made up mostly of water and, without a full-sized shell.<br/>Their soft tissues are prone to desiccation.<br/>They must generate protective mucus to survive.<br/>Many species are most active just after a rain because of the moist ground or during night time.<br/>In drier conditions, they hide in damp places such as under tree bark, fallen logs, rocks and manmade structures.<br/>Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky.<br/>Both kinds of mucus are hygroscopic.<br/>The thin mucus spreads from the foot's centre to its edges, whereas the thick mucus spreads from front to back.<br/>Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body of the animal.<br/>The mucus secreted by the foot contains fibres that help prevent the slug from slipping down vertical surfaces.<br/>This is a tropical land slug, called tropical leatherleaf or Laevicaulis alte.<br/>Tropical leatherleaf is a round, dark-coloured slug with no shell.<br/>Its length is 7 to 8 centimetres or 2.8 to 3.1 inches.<br/>This slug has a unique, very narrow foot; juvenile specimens have a foot 1 millimetre in width, and adult specimens have a foot 4 to 5 millimetres wide.<br/>The tentacles are small, 2 to 3 millimetres long.<br/>The main predator of this slug is a frog, the Indian bullfrog.<br/>The species is probably indigenous to Africa, both western Africa and eastern Africa, particularly Tanzania.<br/>It has been introduced and has become an invasive species in Southern Asia, Pratas Island, Taiwan, United States (Hawaii), Islands in the Indian Ocean, Australia and Samoa.<br/>Tropical leatherleaf lives in dry areas, mostly at lower altitudes.<br/>The slug hatches from eggs.<br/>The species has several adaptations for living in dry conditions: a rounded shape with as small as possible surface area, and a narrow foot to reduce evaporation.<br/>Juvenile specimens search for food always at night, and stay buried in the soil during the day.<br/>Larger specimens are active during the day sometimes.<br/>The slug can grow up from 0.5 to 4 centimetres in length in 7 months.