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Deroceras laeve
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Agriolimacidae
Genus:	Deroceras
Species:	D. laeve
Binomial name
	Deroceras laeve; (O. F. Müller, 1774)
Synonyms
	Limax lævis Müller, 1774; Limax brunneus Draparnaud, 1801; Limax (Deroceras?) gracilis Rafinesque, 1820; Limax campestris Binney, 1842; Limax parvulus Normand, 1852; Limax Weinlandi Heynemann, 1862; Limax araneus Gessis, 1867; Agriolimax bovenoti Collinge, 1870; Limax castaneus Ingersoll, 1875; Limax ingersolli Binney, 1875; Limax montanus Ingersoll, 1875; Limax hyperboreus Westerlund, 1876; Krynickillus montanus Nevill, 1880; Limax hemphilli Binney, 1890; Limax berendti var. pictus Cockerell, 1897; Agriolimax pseudodiocus Velichkovskiy, 1910; Agriolimax (Hydrolimax) renschi Wagner, 1934;

Deroceras laeve, the marsh slug (or meadow slug^[3]), is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.

Distribution

The distribution of Deroceras laeve was originally Palearctic, from the subpolar zones to the southern margins.^[4] Today this slug species has been introduced worldwide except Antarctica, also on tropical islands such as New Guinea and on Pacific islands.^[4]

Europe:

British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland. The species has shown little evidence for significant decline in Britain.^[4]
Czech Republic^[5] - least concern (LC)^[6]
Netherlands^[7]
Poland
Slovakia^[5]
Ukraine^[8]
Sweden
Switzerland - lower concern in Switzerland^[4]
and others

Asia:

The Americas:

California^[15]
Costa Rica ^[16]
El Hatillo Municipality, Miranda, Venezuela
Colombia^[17]
introduced to Dominica (first report in 2009)^[18]
introduced to Brazil

Description

The slug is from brown to dark brown, usually with dark and characteristic but not well visible spots arranged in groups.^[4] The shape is almost cylindrical, posterior end is abruptly widened. The mantle covers 50% of body length (unusually large). There are wrinkles on skin present (may disappear in preserved slugs). Mucus is thin, colourless.^[4]

This slug is 15–25 mm long when preserved.^[4]

Reproductive system:^[4] Penis is often reduced, elongated if present, without proper penial gland but with two or more tiny glandular papillae and its end. Retractor is unforked and attached at half penis length, stimulator small, cone-shaped but looks more like a papilla. Tubular oviductus and atrium are unusually long. There is no rectal caecum.^[4]

Ecology

Habitat

Deroceras laeve has high ecological tolerance, but needs permanently wet habitats.^[4] It is usually found in lowlands and very humid habitats, swamps, riversides, wetlands, especially alder and oak woods, marshlands and degraded areas, also greenhouses, often near water under wood or detritus.^[4] It tolerates subpolar and tropical temperatures.^[4] Newly created habitats are often colonized after a few years.^[4] In Switzerland in up to 1800 m altitude, but usually below 1000 m, in Bulgaria in up to 2500 m.^[4]

Deroceras laeve can be a serious pest in greenhouses.^[4] On the other hand, the species is threatened by continuous elimination of wet habitats by drainage, construction projects and road construction.^[4]

It is the only land gastropod that goes deliberately into the water and can survive for days submerged.^[4] Because of this unusual behavior, the species can be dispersed by flowing water.^[4]

Feeding habits

Deroceras laeve is omnivorous and capable of eating eggs and small insects, but tends to prefer plant matter, either alive or dead.^[4]^[19]^[13]

Life cycle

The eggs of this species can also survive when submerged; juveniles can hatch underwater and then climb to the surface.^[4]

The life cycle is extremely short, and can take place within less than a month.^[4] This species can have up to 5 generations in a year,^[4] with several generations alive at the same time.^[4] Frequently there are forms with a reduced penis, which reproduce by self-fertilisation.^[4] The maximum age of this slug is not more than 1 year.^[4]

Parasites

Parasites of Deroceras laeve include:

Parelaphostrongylus tenuis^[20]

References

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference ^[4]

^ Müller O. F. (1774). Vermivm terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum, et testaceorum, non marinorum, succincta historia. Volumen alterum. pp. I-XXXVI [= 1-36], 1-214, [1-10]. Havniæ & Lipsiæ. (Heineck & Faber).
^ "Synonyms of Limax laevis (n=17)". AnimalBase, accessed 4 January 2011.
^ Anderson, Roy (7 January 2022). "Deroceras laeve (meadow slug)". CAB International. doi:10.1079/cabicompendium.85751. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z Species summary for Deroceras laeve. AnimalBase, accessed 4 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b (in Czech) Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. [Annotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics]". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca, Suppl. 1: 1-37. PDF.
^ Juřičková L, Horsák M, Beran L (2001). "Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic". Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 65: 25–40.
^ "Anemoon > Flora en Fauna > Soorteninformatie". www.anemoon.org.
^ Balashov, I.; Gural-Sverlova, N. (2012). "An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine". Journal of Conchology. 41 (1): 91–109.
^ Hlaváč, J. Č. (2004). "A new record of Deroceras laeve (O. F. Müller, 1774) from Pakistan (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Agriolimacidae)". Folia Malacologica. 12 (4): 181–182. doi:10.12657/folmal.012.016.
^ Wiktor, A.; De-niu, C.; Wu, M. (2000). "Stylommatophoran slugs of China (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) – prodromus". Folia Malacologica. 8 (1): 3–35. doi:10.12657/folmal.008.002.
^ K. T. Shao (ed.). "Deroceras laeve (Müller, 1774)". Catalogue of life in Taiwan. Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
^ Gupta, Neha Kumari; Paul, Pranesh; Barman, Himangshu; Aditya, Gautam (2023-06-01). "The marsh slug, Deroceras laeve in Darjeeling Himalayas, India: First record and modelling of suitable habitats". Acta Ecologica Sinica. 43 (3): 432–438. Bibcode:2023AcEcS..43..432G. doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2022.07.003. ISSN 1872-2032. S2CID 250464605.
^ ^a ^b Gupta, Neha Kumari; Paul, Pranesh; Aditya, Gautam (2023-09-30). "Deroceras laeve as a potential agricultural pest in Darjeeling Himalayas, India: Palatability and preference of economically important plants". Annals of Applied Biology. doi:10.1111/aab.12869. ISSN 0003-4746. S2CID 262191933.
^ Dedov, I.K.; Schneppat, U.E; Reise, H.; Quang Vu, M. (3 December 2020). "First record of an agriolimacid slug in Southeast Asia – Deroceras laeve (O. F. Müller, 1774) (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) recently introduced to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam". Biodiversity Data Journal. 8: e59644. doi:10.3897/BDJ.8.e59644. PMC 7728728. PMID 33328779.
^ Rory J. Mc Donnel; Timothy D. Paine; Michael J. Gormally (2009). Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California. ISBN 978-1-60107-564-2. Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
^ Barrientos, Zaidett (2003). "Lista de especies de moluscos terrestres (Archaeogastropoda, Mesogastropoda, Archaeopulmonata, Stylommatophora, Soleolifera) informadas para Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 51: 293–304.
^ Hausdorf, B. (May 2002). "Introduced land snails and slugs in Colombia". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 68 (2): 127–131. doi:10.1093/mollus/68.2.127. PMID 12011238.
^ Robinson, 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'. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
^ Fox, Lee; Landis, B. J. (1 April 1973). "Notes on the Predaceous Habits of the Gray Field Slug, Deroceras laeve". Environmental Entomology. 2 (2): 306–307. doi:10.1093/ee/2.2.306.
^ Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. "Brainworm". accessed 14 December 2010.

Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca. pp 196–219 in Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch

External links

Media related to Deroceras laeve at Wikimedia Commons
Deroceras laeve at Animalbase taxonomy,short description, distribution, biology,status (threats), images
Deroceras laeve images at Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea Search Distribution
Deroceras laeve on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site