''Laevicaulis stuhlmanni'' is a species of

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

slug 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 ...

. It is native to parts of tropical Africa.

Description

''Laevicaulis stuhlmanni'' shows a flattened body and a dark to light brown colour. Adults are on average 45 mm long and 15.5 mm wide. The weight of an adult averages around 3.5 g.

Feeding habits

''Laevicaulis stuhlmanni'' is a

grazer Grazer may refer to: *grazer, an animal that grazes *Grazer, a native or inhabitant of Graz *GRAZER, the shoegaze band GRAZER Astronomy *Earth Grazer, Earth-grazing fireball that enters the Earth's atmosphere and leaves again *Mercury grazer, ast ...

and

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

feeder.

Distribution

''Laevicaulis stuhlmanni'' occurs naturally in tropical regions of Africa, including Congo Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It has been introduced to Egypt, where it is viewed as a serious agricultural pest. Laevicaulis stuhlmanni2b

Life cycle

In Egypt the reproductive season of ''Leavicaulis stuhlmanni'' starts in March or April, when the temperature rises, and lasts until November. They are

hermaphrodites In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...

and self-fertilization is common. During the

oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

period each slug can produce 5 clutches over the course of 46 days. Under laboratory conditions ''Leavicaulis stuhlmanni'' lays individual egg clutches containing up to 140 oval to spherical elongated, clear translucent eggs. The clutch is covered with a soil-rich fecal pellet-ribbon that helps maintain a high humidity within it. Incubation period ranges from 10 to 19 days at a temperature of around 30°C and a humidtiy between 52 % and 64 %. ''Laevicaulis stuhlmanni'' reaches sexual maturity after 2 to 3 months after hatching, depending on climatic conditions. Total life span is between 5 and 6 months.

References

Veronicellidae {{Improve categories, date=February 2022