''Triboniophorus'' sp. nov. 'Kaputar', also known as ''Triboniophorus'' aff. ''graeffei'', or the Mount Kaputar pink slug, 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 giant air-breathing

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

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 ...

with a distinctive

hot pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificati ...

hue. These slugs are found on

Mount Kaputar Mount Kaputar, a mountain with an elevation of above sea level, is located near Narrabri in northern New South Wales. It is part of the Nandewar Range and has been preserved within the Mount Kaputar National Park. The mountain is a prominent l ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Taxonomists have confirmed that these slugs are not

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the better-known "red triangle slug", ''

Triboniophorus graeffei The red triangle slug (''Triboniophorus graeffei'') is a species of large air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Athoracophoridae, the leaf-veined slugs. This large (up to ), often colorful and striki ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

The slugs have only been found at the top of

, an inland mountain near

Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highway. At ...

in northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

within

Mount Kaputar National Park The Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located east of Narrabri and northwest of ...

, at an altitude around surrounded by

snow gum ''Eucalyptus pauciflora'', commonly known as snow gum, cabbage gum or white sally, is a species of tree or mallee that is native to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped to elliptical leaves, flower buds in clusters of between sev ...

trees. They have been observed to stay within this area, which is estimated to be . Most of the top of the mountain is designated wilderness. Although the mountain is surrounded by dry plains, it receives rainfall and snow, and its temperature is cooler than the plains. Thus it forms an isolated

ecozone An Ecozone may refer to: * Ecozone (Canada), one of 15 first-level ecological land classifications in Canada * Biogeographic realm, the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface (referred to as ''ecozone'' by BBC) * Biome, a large c ...

, or

sky island Sky islands are topographic isolation, isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau, and has extended to similarly isolated montane ecosystems, hi ...

; such sky islands are known for unique indigenous fauna and flora. Around 90% of the total population of the species are thought to have perished in the 2019 Australian bushfires.

Life

The slugs can be seen by the hundreds on cool, wet, misty mornings. During the day, they hide in the

plant litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

at the base of the trees. At night, they come out and climb the tree to eat

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es growing on the

tree trunk In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...

. The slugs climb down the tree trunk in the early morning to hide and repeat the cycle. In the ecosystem, the slugs break down the plant litter into nutrient-rich soil to promote plant growth. They also serve as food for birds and other animals.

Description

The slugs are

fluorescent pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificati ...

in color and up to about in length. In an

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

interview,

National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger Michael Murphy described the color: "as bright pink as you can imagine, that's how pink they are".

Origins

''Triboniophorus'' sp. nov. 'Kaputar' is related but not identical to ''

'', the red triangle slug. Taxonomists have confirmed the fluorescent pink species' distinction from the red triangle slug. The slug has relatives in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, New Zealand, and eastern Africa. These land masses once connected with Australia as the

Gondwanaland Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

supercontinent. A volcanic eruption at Mount Kaputar 17 million years ago created a high-altitude area where these slugs and other invertebrates and plants have lived isolated for millions of years after the surrounding rainforests of eastern Australia vanished due to climate change.

Distribution and habitat

Life

Description

Origins

References

Further reading