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 often synanthropic. It is most likely to be confused with Limacus flavus, which it closely resembles externally.
| Limacus maculatus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Family: | Limacidae |
| Genus: | Limacus |
| Species: | L. maculatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko, 1851) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Krynickillus maculatus Kaleniczenko, 1851 | |
Taxonomy
editFormerly, Limax ecarinatus Boettger, 1881 was the appropriate name if Limacus was considered a subgenus of Limax.[2] The reason is that Nunneley had already described a Limax maculatus in 1837; this turned out to be a synonym of Limax maximus, but nevertheless the combination Limax maculatus could not be reapplied to a species described under the name maculatus at a later date (even though that 1851 description used a different genus, Krynickillus). However, a 2016 ruling by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has suppressed the earlier usages of Limax maculatus, making Limax maculatus now the correct name if the species is placed in the genus Limax.[3]
In the 1970s the same species[4] was twice described again, under the names Limax grossui (from Romania)[5] and Limax pseudoflavus (from Ireland).[6]
Identification
edit
Limacus maculatus and L. flavus are both large species of slug (up to 130 mm) with a yellow colouration, mottled with darker blotches; the tentacles are blue-grey. Juveniles are much darker. Like other limacid slugs, the tail is pointed and the pneumostome lies in the hind part of the mantle. The mucus is yellow or colourless.[8]
The most reliable character to distinguish L. maculatus from L. flavus is where the duct of the bursa copulatrix attaches. It attaches to the base of the penis or to the atrium in L. maculatus, but some distance along the free oviduct in L. flavus.[9]
External characters proposed to distinguish the species appear to be less consistent but may be useful in particular regions or as a preliminary indication. For instance in the British Isles L. flavus differs from L. maculatus in having a pale line along the midline of the back,[8] but this is not consistenly present in Ukrainian populations.[10] Claims that the dark pigment extends further ventrally down the flanks in L. maculatus[4] are contradicted by British and Dutch specimens.[8][11]
In the British Isles, apparently hybridisation has given rise to individuals with the genital characters of L. flavus but the mitochondrial DNA sequences of L. maculatus.[12]
Distribution, spread and habitat
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This species' original range is thought to be the Caucasus region and the Black Sea coast, so it may be native where it occurs in: Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey, southwestern Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.[4][14] It is considered an introduction in:
- Great Britain; dramatic increase in 21st century, replacing L. flavus[8]
- Island of Ireland; earlier replacement of L. flavus than in Britain[8]
- Greece (uncertain identification)[15]
- Canary Islands[14]
- Germany[14]
- Netherlands[11]
- Czech Republic[16]
- Hungary[7]
Mitochondrial DNA sequences of new colonies in Hungary and the Czech Republic are identical to a haplotype common in the British Isles, which was colonised in the 19th century, suggesting that that may have been the intermediate source. A sequence from Germany is also very similar to this, whereas Ukrainian and Georgian sequences differed much more.[19][20]
In its native range it is a forest species.[4] Elsewhere it is found in synanthropic habitats like L. flavus, but much more commonly than that species in woodland and farmland, particularly under logs.[8]
References
edit- ↑ MolluscaBase eds. "Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko, 1851)". MolluscaBase. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
- ↑ Welter-Schultes, F.W. (2013). Guidelines for the capture and management of digital zoological names information. Version 1.1. Copenhagen: Global Biodiversity Information Facility. p. 65. ISBN 978-87-92020-44-4.
- ↑ ICZN (2016). "Opinion 2375 (Case 3639) Krynickillus maculatus Kaleniczenko, 1851 (currently Limax maculatus ; Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, limacidae): specific name conserved". The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 73 (1): 61–62. doi:10.21805/bzn.v73i1.a10.
- 1 2 3 4 Wiktor, A.; Norris, A. (1982). "The synonymy of Limax maculatus (Kaleniczenko 1851) with notes on its European distribution". Journal of Conchology. 31 (2): 75–77.
- ↑ Lupu, D. (1970). "Contributions à l'étude des Limacides de Roumanie". Travaux du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa. 10: 61–71.
- ↑ Evans, N.J. (1978). "Limax pseudoflavus sp. n. a new species of slug for Ireland". Irish Naturalists' Journal. 19 (5): 173–174.
- 1 2 Turóci, Á.; Hutchinson, J.; Schlitt, B.; Reise, H.; Rapala, M.; Páll-Gergely, B. (2023). "Five new introduced terrestrial slugs in Hungary". BioInvasions Records. 12 (3): 711–729. doi:10.3391/bir.2023.12.3.08.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rowson, B.; Turner, J.; Anderson, R.; Symondson, B. (2014). Slugs of Britain and Ireland. Identification, understanding and control. Telford, UK: FSC Publications/National Museum of Wales. ISBN 978-1908819130.
- ↑ Forcart, L. (1986). "Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko) und Limacus flavus (Linnaeus)". Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft. 38: 21–23.
- 1 2 Gural-Sverlova, Nina; Rodych, Taras (2023-01-30). "First records of introduced slugs of the genus Limacus (Gastropoda: Limacidae) in the Lviv region and their present distribution in Ukraine". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 22: 4–12. doi:10.5817/MaB2023-22-4. ISSN 1336-6939.
- 1 2 Langeraert, W.; van de Haar, P.G.; Margry, K. (2021). "The green cellar slug Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko, 1851) (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Limacidae) new for the Netherlands". Basteria. 85 (1): 6–12.
- ↑ Rowson, B.; Anderson, R.; Turner, J.A.; Symondson, W.O.C. (2014). "The slugs of Britain and Ireland: undetected and undescribed species increase a well-studied, economically important fauna by more than 20%". PLoS ONE. 9 (4) e91907. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091907. PMC 3989179.
- ↑ Boettger, O. (1881). "Boettger, O. (1881). Sechstes Verzeichniss transkaukasischer, armenischer und nordpersischer Mollusken aus Sendungen der Herren Hans Leder, z. Z. in Kutais und Dr. G. Sievers in St. Petersburg". Jahrbücher der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft. 8 (3): 167–261, pl. 7–9.
- 1 2 3 Eta, K.; Hausdorf, B. (2020). "Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko 1851) in Hamburg (Gastropoda: Limacidae)" (PDF). Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft. 102: 49–51.
- ↑ Wiktor, A. (2001). The slugs of Greece (Arionidae, Milacidae, Limacidae, Agriolimacidae – Gastropoda, Stylommatophora). — Fauna Graeciae 8. Iraklio: Natural History Museum of Crete.
- ↑ Čejka, T.; Beran, L.; Korábek, O.; Hlaváč, J.Č.; Horáčková, J.; Coufal, R.; Drvotová, M.; Maňas, M.; Horsáková, V.; Horsák, M. (2020). "Malacological news from the Czech and Slovak Republics in 2015–2019" (PDF). Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 19: 71–106. doi:10.5817/MaB2020-19-71.
- ↑ Ostrovsky, A.M. (2022). "Новые находки синантропных слизней Limacus maculatus и Arion vulgaris (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) в Беларуси [New records of synanthropic slugs Limacus maculatus and Arion vulgaris (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Stylommatophora) in Belarus]". Ruthenica. 32 (2): 93–98. doi:10.35885/ruthenica.2022.32(2).6.
- ↑ Sysoev, A.V.; Schileyko, A.A. (2009). Land snails and slugs of Russia and adjacent countries. Sofia, Moscow: Pensoft.
- ↑ Hutchinson, J.M.C.; Schlitt, B.; Reise, H. (2026). "Ambigolimax, Lehmannia and other limacid slugs (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora); what their DNA tells us about phylogeny, taxonomy and phylogeography". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 92 (1) eyaf031. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyaf031.
- ↑ Jueg, U.; Reise, H.; Kelm, H. (2022). "Limacus maculatus (Kaleniczenko 1851) in Niedersachsen (Gastropoda: Limacidae)" (PDF). Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft. 107: 9–14.