Megapallifera mutabilis
| Megapallifera mutabilis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Philomycidae |
| Genus: | Megapallifera |
| Species: | M. mutabilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Megapallifera mutabilis (Hubricht, 1951) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Megapallifera mutabilis, common name the changeable mantleslug, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Philomycidae.
Description
[edit]This slug is called a Mantleslug because the mantle covers the entire body, like the other slugs of its family Philomycidae. Like other slugs in the genus Megapallifera, it is not one of the gastropod species which uses love darts.[3]
Distribution
[edit]Native to and found throughout eastern North America,[4] from Ontario, Canada at the most north, down to the Gulf Coast of the United States east of Texas at the most southern[3] The species is ranked by NatureServe as critically imperiled in Ontario, vulnerable in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and apparently secure in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. It is present in but has no ranking in the U.S. states of New York, West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Texas.[1]
Ecology
[edit]This slug can be found in deciduous forest habitats, where they are often arboreal. It eats primarily algae, and lives in live trees such as American beech.[4] The species has been observed to huddle with 2-5 other individuals in water filled tree holes, and to dip its tail into water to rehydrate after returning from foraging. As many as 12 individuals will reside in the same tree hole. This slug lives for about one year and multiple generations will use the same tree holes.[5]
References
[edit]
- 1 2 NatureServe. "Megapallifera mutabilis". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ↑ Bieler R, Bouchet P, Gofas S, Marshall B, Rosenberg G, La Perna R, Neubauer TA, Sartori AF, Schneider S, Vos C, ter Poorten JJ, Taylor J, Dijkstra H, Finn J, Bank R, Neubert E, Moretzsohn F, Faber M, Houart R, Picton B, Garcia-Alvarez O (eds.). "Megapallifera mutabilis (Hubricht, 1951)". MolluscaBase. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Mollusks : Carnegie Museum of Natural History - Megapallifera mutabilis". www.carnegiemnh.org. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- 1 2 Paustian, Megan E.; Barbosa, Pedro (February 2012). "Overlap of food and microhabitat preferences among some native and nonnative slugs in mid-Atlantic forests of eastern North America". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 78 (1): 92–99. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyr041. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ↑ Örstan, Adyin; Paustian, Megan (18 October 2025). "Huddling and tail-dipping: two previously unknown behaviours of the slug Megapallifera mutabilis (Philomycidae)". Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. doi:10.61733/jconch/4556. Retrieved 24 March 2026.