''Chlamydephorus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 sm ...

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 es ...

s in the family Chlamydephoridae. It is the only genus within the family Chlamydephoridae.Herbert D. G. (1997). "The terrestrial slugs of KwaZulu-Natal: diversity, biogeography and conservation (Mollusca: Pulmonata)". ''

Annals of the Natal Museum ''African Invertebrates'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal that covers the taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, ecology, conservation, and palaeontology of Afrotropical invertebrates, whether terrestrial, freshwater, or marine. It ...

'' 38: 197-239
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Taxonomy

The family Chlamydephoridae has no subfamilies and it is placed in the superfamily Rhytidoidea. ''Chlamydephorus'' is the type genus of the family Chlamydephoridae.

Species

Species within the genus ''Chlamydephorus'' include: * '' Chlamydephorus bruggeni'' * '' Chlamydephorus burnupi'' (Smith, 1892) - Burnup's hunter slug * '' Chlamydephorus dimidius'' (Watson, 1915) - Snake skin hunter slug * '' Chlamydephorus gibbonsi'' Binney, 1879 * '' Chlamydephorus purcelli'' (Collinge, 1901) - Purcell's hunter slug * '' Chlamydephorus sexangulus''

Distribution

Species of ''Chlamydephorus'' occur across southern Africa; they are most commonly found in the Natal region of South Africa.

Description

''Chlamydephorus'' slugs have an internal vestigial shell. The pallial organs are located at the posterior end of the elongated body and embedded under the dorsal integument. The elongation of the buccal mass varies greatly among the different species of the family and this is reflected in the size of the radula and the number of teeth. In all species the jaw is absent. The largest individuals of these slugs can be up to 120 mm in length.

Ecology

These slugs are believed to be mostly subterranean dwellers. Gut analysis of one species found both plant and animal matter, indicating that they are facultative predators who will also eat vegetation. They have been recorded as eating

pill millipede Pill millipedes are any members of two living (and one extinct) orders of millipedes, often grouped together into a single superorder, Oniscomorpha. The name Oniscomorpha refers to the millipedes' resemblance to certain woodlice (Oniscidea), also ...

s of the genus '' Sphaerotherium'',Herbert D. G. (2000). "Dining on diplopods: remarkable feeding behaviour in chlamydephorid slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda)". ''

Journal of Zoology The ''Journal of Zoology'' is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted t ...

'' 251(1): 1–5. . snails, other arthropods and soft-bodied invertebrates such as earthworms. The prey is subdued by injecting a toxin into its flesh.

Taxonomy

Species

Distribution

Description

Ecology

References

Further reading