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snail

Arion ater

Black slug

Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) Rasbak

Short Description

With 13 centimetres long, the black slug is one of the larger land slugs. It usually has a completely black body. The underside (sole) is also black-grey. Rarely, there are also white specimens with a yellowish sole.

The young are whitish and have a black head.

Features

Black slug

Arion ater

  • mostly all black

  • very large

Similar species

Red slug

Arion rufus
Black specimens of the red slug look very similar. However, they usually have a red fringe around the foot. A reliable differentiation is only possible with an anatomical examination. However, the species probably only occur together in northern Germany.

Ash-black slug

Limax cinereoniger
It has a distinct edge (keel) along the rear dorsum. Its body is longer and narrower. The underside (sole) has two dark edges and a light central area.
Habitus (CC BY-SA 3.0) 4028mdk09

In the city

The black slug prefers to live in wooded habitats on alkaline soil. They can be found in damp forests, on meadows, in bogs and also in gardens.

Fun Facts

  • The black slug is mainly nocturnal. In humid weather, however, it can also be seen during the day.

  • It eats green and rotten parts of plants.

  • She will be about one year old.

  • Like all land snails, it is a hermaphrodite, i.e. it has male and female sexual characteristics.

  • Endangerment level Germany: insufficient data available

Sources

Habitus, Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://species-id.net/openmedia/File:Black_slug.jpg

Habitus, 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schwarzgl%C3%A4nzende_Nacktschnecke.JPG

Page „Schwarze Wegschnecke“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 02.09.2019, 13:38 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schwarze_Wegschnecke&oldid=191905763 (Accessed: 29.09.2020).

Wiese, V. (2014) Die Landschnecken Deutschlands. Finden – Erkennen – Bestimmen, Wiebelsheim: Quelle & Meyer Verlag.

Nordsiek, R. (n.d.) Schwarzer Schnegel - Die faszinierende Welt der Weichtiere. Wegschnecken (Arionidae) Teil 1, URL: http://www.weichtiere.at/Schnecken/land.html?/Schnecken/land/arionidae.html (Accessed: 29.09.2020).