''Veronicella sloanii'', commonly called the pancake 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 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 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 ...

, pulmonate gastropod

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

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 ...

, the leatherleaf slugs.

Description

When extended, this slug can attain a length of 12 cm (5 in.). It is highly variable in coloration and positive identification depends on dissection and inspection of the

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

. It is usually very pale in color, ranging from mottle pale yellow, cream to white. It may have irregular black spotting or speckling all over the dorsal surface that may coalesce into two poorly defined bands running down either side of the body; in the juveniles, these two bands may be clearer and better defined as grey bands, especially anteriorly. Occasionally the slug can be mostly brownish. The only constant color character among different Caribbean island populations is the eye stalk, which is bluish grey with a light brown tip.

Distribution

The indigenous distribution of ''Veronicella sloanii'' is

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. The type locality is in Jamaica. Other non-indigenous distribution includes: *

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

* Dominica - first report from Dominica in 2009Robinson D. G., Hovestadt A., Fields A. & Breure A. S. H. (July 2009). "The land Mollusca of Dominica (Lesser Antilles), with notes on some enigmatic or rare species". ''Zoologische Mededelingen'' 83 http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/83/nr03/a13 *

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

* Saint Lucia * Saint Vincent *

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

( Bahia Honda in

Pinar del Río Province Pinar del Río is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba. Geography The Pinar del Río province is Cuba's westernmost province and contains one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guanig ...

).Maceira D. F. (2003). "Las especies de la familia Veronicellidae (Mollusca, Soleolifera) en Cuba". ''Revista de Biología Tropical'' 51(3): 453-461
PDF
. This slug has been introduced to

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 it has become an agricultural pest there. Controversially Cowie et al. (2009) considered this species has not yet become established in the US, but it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species which could negatively affect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore, it has been suggested that this species be given top national

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

significance in the USA.Cowie R. H., Dillon R. T., Robinson D. G. & Smith J. W. (2009). "Alien non-marine snails and slugs of priority quarantine importance in the United States: A preliminary risk assessment". ''American Malacological Bulletin'' 27: 113-132
PDF
.

Ecology

Habitat

This slug lives in moist conditions and is nocturnal. The best times to hunt for the slug is after rainfall. They rest under boards, logs and other objects lying on the ground.

Feeding habits

This species attacks a wide variety of agricultural and horticultural plants including banana,

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

, various

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

and

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

, eggplant, cultivars of ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family ( Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole c ...

'' (e.g., broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower), carrot, hot and sweet peppers, various citrus species, lettuce, sweet potato,

dasheen Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

eddoe Eddoe or eddo is a tropical vegetable often considered identifiable as the species ''Colocasia antiquorum'', closely related to taro (dasheen, ''Colocasia esculenta''), which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms).Purseglove, J.W. 197 ...

, tannia, tomato, and yam.

Life cycle

The slug lays a clutch of about 30 eggs, which are about 5 mm in diameter.Anonymous. (2005
"''Veronicella'' (''Veronicella'') ''sloanei'' (Cuvier, 1817) Pancake Slug"
PetSnails.co.uk. Accessed 27 October 2008. The hatching time in captivity was 15 days at 24 °C.

Importance for humans

This species is an agricultural pest. They should not be handled with bare hands because they serve as intermediate hosts of the nematode '' Angiostrongylus costaricensis'', which causes a disease called human abdominal

angiostrongyliasis Angiostrongyliasis is an infection by a roundworm of the '' Angiostrongylus'' type. Symptoms may vary from none, to mild, to meningitis. Infection with ''Angiostrongylus cantonensis'' (rat lungworm) can occur after ingestion of raw or undercoo ...

References

This article incorporates public text a public domain

work of the United States Government A work of the United States government, is defined by the United States copyright law, as "a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties." "A 'work of the United States Governmen ...

from the reference

Stange L. A. (created September 2004, updated March 2006)
"Snails and Slugs of Regulatory Significance to Florida"
Division of Plant Industry,

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is an executive department of the government of Florida. The Commissioner of Agriculture (directly elected by voters statewide for a four-year term, and a member of the Florid ...

. accessed 27 August 2010.

External links

* Images from http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/metazoa1.html * http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/tveronicellasloanei1.JPG * http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/veronicellasloanei2.JPG {{DEFAULTSORT:Veronicella Sloanii Veronicellidae Gastropods described in 1817 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier