''Belocaulus angustipes'', the black-velvet leatherleaf slug, is a species of

land slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...

in the family

Veronicellidae The Veronicellidae, also known by their common name the leatherleaf slugs, are a family of pulmonate terrestrial slugs. The herbivorous molluscs occur mainly in the tropical and subtropical areas of America, Asia and Africa. They act as intermed ...

native to South American tropical regions.

Anatomy and morphology

As the common name suggests, ''Belocaulus angustipes'' are generally black and velvety in appearance as adults. Some juveniles of the species will have a pale strip in the middle.

Distribution and habitat

''Belocaulus angustipes'' are native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

tropical regions The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred t ...

. They are also a nonnative but established species in northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and other states in the Gulf Coast of United States.

Behavior

''Belocaulus angustipes'' are mostly active at night and in wet weather. Their diet consists of both live and decaying plant matter. Due to their large numbers in the tropical regions, the ''Belocaulus angustipes'' are a big problem for

agricultural crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

Parasitism

In South America, ''Belocaulus angustipes'' are a part of the parasitic lifecycle of the nematode parasite ''

Angiostrongylus costaricensis ''Angiostrongylus costaricensis'' is a species of parasitic nematode and is the causative agent of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in humans. It occurs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Hosts Rodents are the normal definitive hosts, especially ...

''.

References

Veronicellidae {{Veronicellidae-stub