Leopard Slug
Limax maximus
47.6627, -122.682
Field Notes
Description:
Limax maximus (literally, "great slug"), also known by common names such as the great grey slug, or the leopard slug, is one of the largest kinds of keeled air-breathing land slug in the world, (Limax cinereoniger being the largest). It is in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs.
Limax maximus is the type species of the genus Limax. The adult slug measures 10-20 cm (4-8 in) in length and is generally a light greyish or grey-brown with darker spots and blotches, although the coloration and exact patterning of the body of this slug species is quite variable.
This species has a very unusual and distinctive mating method, where the pair of slugs use a thick thread of mucus to hang suspended in the air from a tree branch or other structure.
Although native to Europe, this species has been accidentally introduced to many other parts of the world.
Habitat:
This species is widely distributed but it is generally considered to be native to Europe.
The indigenous distribution of Limax maximus is western and southern Europe and part of western Africa also,[2] maybe originally Mediterranean.[
Notes:
The body length of adults of this slug species is 10-20 cm (4-8 in).[3]
The greater part of the body is rounded, but there is a short keel on its tail, with about 48 longitudinal rows of elongate, detached tubercles.[4]
The animal's body color is pale-grey, ash-colored, brownish or sometimes yellowish-white. The body is longitudinally streaked or spotted with black. The shield is always black-spotted. The sole of the foot is ash or yellowish-ash colored, and the color is always uniform.[5] The foot-fringe is pale, with a row of minute submarginal blackish tubercles.[4]
Every Limax maximus differs slightly in its pattern of black spots
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