''Limax'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

s in the 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 ...

family

Limacidae Limacidae, also known by their common name the keelback slugs, are a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large, air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Limacoidea. Distribution The distr ...

The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Limacidae - Limax cf

Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden slug (''Limacus flavus''), are considered garden pests.Ebeling. W
Chapter 12: Miscellaneous Pests.
''Urban Entomology''. Department of Entomology. UC Riverside. 2002. The genus ''Limax'' ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' is probably

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

.Klee, B. 200
Towards a phylogeny of ''Limax'' (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)''.
''The Malacologist''. Molluscan Forum 2006.

Distribution

This genus is native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, but at least one species (''L. maximus'') has been introduced into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Species

The genus ''Limax'' includes at least 33 species:Species in genus ''Limax''
AnimalBase. Accessed 5 May 2009. * ''

Limax aeolianus ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Giusti, 1973 * ''

Limax albipes ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Dumont & Mortillet, 1853 * ''

Limax amaliae ''Limax amaliae'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae Limacidae, also known by their common name the keelback slugs, are a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large, ...

'' Bettoni, 1870 * '' Limax bielzii'' Seibert, 1873 * '' Limax brandstetteri'' Falkner, 2008Falkner, G. (2008)
''Limax (Limax) brandstetteri'' n. sp. – ein neuer Hochgebirgsschnegel aus den Abruzzen (Gastropoda: Limacidae). ''Limax (Limax) brandstetteri'' n. sp. – a new high mountain slug from the Abruzzi Mountains (Gastropoda: Limacidae).
''

Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Swa ...

'', Neue Serie. 1: 133-142. * '' Limax camerani'' Lessona & Pollonera, 1882 * '' Limax canapicianus'' Pollonera, 1885 * '' Limax cephalonicus'' Simroth, 1886 * '' Limax ciminensis'' Pollonera, 1890 * '' Limax cinereoniger'' Wolf, 1803 (syn. ''Limax alpinus'' Férussac, 1822)Nitz, B., et al. (2009). Towards a new standard in slug species descriptions: the case of ''Limax sarnensis'' Heim & Nitz n. sp. (Pulmonata: Limacidae) from the Western Central Alps. ''

Journal of Molluscan Studies The ''Journal of Molluscan Studies'' is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Malacological Society of London, covering research in malacology.

'' 75(3): 279-294. . * '' Limax conemenosi'' Böttger, 1882 * ''

Limax corsicus ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the limax maximus, leopard slug (' ...

'' Moquin-Tandon, 1855 * '' Limax dacampi'' Menegazzi, 1854 ** ''Limax dacampi dacampi'' Menegazzi, 1855 * ''

Limax dobrogicus ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Grossu & Lupu, 1960 *''

Limax doriae ''Limax doriae'', common name Doria's slug, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae, the keelback slugs. Etymology Jules René Bourguignat (1829 - 1892) named this species in ho ...

'' Bourguignat, 1861 * '' Limax engadinensis'' Heynemann, 1863 * '' Limax erythrus'' Bourguignat, 1864 * '' Limax gerhardti'' Niethammer, 1937 * '' Limax giovannellae'' Falkner & Niederhöfer, 2008 * '' Limax giustii'' Falkner & Nitz, 2010 * ''

Limax graciadeii ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Gerhardt, 1940 * ''

Limax graecus ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Simroth, 1889 * '' Limax granosus'' Bérenguier, 1900 * '' Limax hemmeni'' Rähle, 1983 * ''

Limax ianninii ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garde ...

'' Giusti, 1973 * ''

Limax ilvensis ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Falkner & Nitz, 2010 * '' Limax lachensis'' Bérenguier, 1900 * '' Limax luctuosus'' Moquin-Tandon, 1855 * ''

Limax maximus ''Limax maximus'' (literally, "biggest slug"), known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs.Marshall, B. (2014). Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: Worl ...

'' Linnaeus,

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

- great grey slug * '' Limax millipunctatus'' Pini, 1885 * '' Limax monolineatus'' Bettoni, 1870 * '' Limax monregalensis'' Lessona & Pollonera, 1882 * ''

Limax pironae ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Pini, 1876 * ''

Limax polipunctatus ''Limax'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk family Limacidae. The generic name ''Limax'' literally means "slug". Some species, such as the leopard slug (''L. maximus'') and the tawny garden ...

'' Pollonera, 1888 * '' Limax punctulatus'' Sordelli, 1871 * '' Limax redii'' Gerhardt, 1933 * '' Limax samensis'' Heim & Nitz, 2009 * '' Limax squamosus'' Bérenguier, 1900 * '' Limax strobeli'' Pini, 1876 * '' Limax subalpinus'' Lessona, 1880 * '' Limax tschapecki'' Simroth, 1886 * '' Limax veronensis'' Lessona & Pollonera, 1882 * '' Limax vizzavonensis'' Falkner & Nitz, 2010 * '' Limax wohlberedti'' Simroth, 1900 * '' Limax wolterstorffi'' Simroth, 1900 * '' Limax zilchi'' Grossu & Lupu, 1960

Subgenus ''Limacus'' (more often today treated as its own genus)

* ''Limax ecarinatus'' Boettger, 1881: synonym of ''

Limacus maculatus ''Limacus maculatus'', the green cellar slug or Irish yellow slug, is a species of slug native to the Caucasus and Black Sea coast. It has also been introduced to a number of northern European countries. In its introduced range the species is oft ...

'' (Kaleniczenko, 1851) * ''Limax flavus'' Linnaeus, 1758 yellow garden slug, tawny garden slug: synonym of ''

Limacus flavus ''Limacus flavus'', known commonly as the cellar slug, the yellow slug, or the tawny garden slug, is a medium to large species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae.MolluscaBase (2019). ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms

* ''Limax marginatus'' Müller, 1774 is a synonym for ''

Lehmannia marginata ''Lehmannia marginata'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae. Sometimes classified in the genus ''Limax'', the species is distinct in its ecology, and its nearly transpare ...

'' (Müller, 1774) * ''Limax valentianus'' Férussac, 1822 is a synonym for ''

Ambigolimax valentianus ''Ambigolimax valentianus'' (also known as ''Lehmannia valentiana'') is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of inver ...

'' (Férussac, 1822) * ''Limax nyctelius'' Bourguignat, 1861 is now placed in the genus '' Letourneuxia'' but the name has been used for ''

Lehmannia carpatica ''Lehmannia carpatica'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Limacidae. Taxonomy When Grossu & Lupu (1963) first noted this species, in Romania, its long penis and lack of penial appen ...

'' (Bourguignat, 1861) and ''

Ambigolimax waterstoni ''Ambigolimax waterstoni'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Limacidae. Taxonomy This is one of the several species formerly confused under the name ''Limax nyctelius'' and later ' ...

'' Hutchinson, Reise & Schlitt, 2022

References

{{Authority control Limacidae Gastropod genera Agricultural pest molluscs Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus