''Deroceras juranum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of air-breathing 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 ...

, a terrestrial

pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Agriolimacidae ''Agriolimacidae'' is a family of small and medium-sized land slugs, or shell-less snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc, mollusks. Distribution Distribution of Limacidae is Holarctic, this include: Nearctic, wes ...

Taxonomy

Wüthrich (1993) described ''Deroceras juranum'' from the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, distinguishing it from the co-occurring ''

Deroceras rodnae ''Deroceras rodnae'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae. Taxonomy ''Deroceras rodnae'' was originally described from the Rodna Mountains in Romani ...

'' on the basis of ''Deroceras juranums distinct violet coloration. Later the same coloration was found in Austrian populations by Jordaens et al. (1998) and in other species of ''Deroceras'' by Reise & Hutchinson (2001). Reise (1997) demonstrated that the violet coloration was controlled by a single Mendelian-inherited gene and thus considered ''Deroceras juranum'' to be a variety of ''Deroceras rodnae''. It is treated thus in Wiktor’s (2000) monograph of the Agriolimacidae. Hutchinson & Reise (2009) later realised that what had been considered ''Deroceras rodnae'' was actually two species with radically different mating behaviours and consistent, although subtle, differences in morphology. Molecular analyses supported this distinction. The more easterly distributed species can retain the name ''Deroceras rodnae'', and the westerly distributed species must, somewhat confusingly, take the name ''Deroceras juranum''.

Description

Externally ''Deroceras juranum'' is indistinguishable from many other ''

Deroceras ''Deroceras'' is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic genus of small to medium sized air-breathing land slugs in the family Agriolimacidae. Description Most species reach only 30–35 mm in length (max 45 mm). Coloration varies cons ...

'', such as ''

Deroceras praecox ''Deroceras praecox'' is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae. Taxonomy When Wiktor (1966) described ''D. praecox'' he distinguished two forms on the basis of their ...

'', ''

'', '' Deroceras turcicum'' and ''

Deroceras reticulatum ''Deroceras reticulatum'', common names the "grey field slug" and "grey garden slug", is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Agriolimacidae. This species is an important agricul ...

''. It is polymorphic in colour. Identifications to species level require

dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...

: illustrations of the genitalia are depicted in work by Hutchinson & Reise (2009).

Distribution

Hutchinson & Reise (2009) confirmed that, besides the type locality in

, other populations in the Swiss Jura Mountains,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

were ''Deroceras juranum''. Earlier records of ''Deroceras rodnae'' s. l. from the west of its range are liable to refer to ''Deroceras juranum'', but identifications from Spain and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

have been questioned.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5262900 Agriolimacidae Gastropods described in 1993