Deroceras Reticulatum
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Deroceras reticulatum'',
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
s the "grey field slug", "grey garden slug", and "milky slug", is a
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of small 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 sma ...
, a
terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. 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 o ...
pulmonate Pulmonata or pulmonates is an informal group (previously an order, and before that, a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group inclu ...
gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
in the family
Agriolimacidae ''Agriolimacidae'' is a family of small and medium-sized land slugs, or shell-less snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks. Distribution Distribution of Limacidae is Holarctic, this include: Nearctic, western Palearctic and eastern P ...
. This species is an important agricultural pest.


Distribution

''Deroceras reticulatum'' is native to Europe, North Africa and the Atlantic Islands.Horsák M., Juřičková L. & Picka J. (2013). ''Měkkýši České a Slovenské republiky. Molluscs of the Czech and Slovak Republics''. Kabourek, Zlín, 264 pp. (in Czech and English). It occurs widely in Europe, but is more rare and restricted to cultivated fields in the southeast, particularly in the Balkans, and is probably absent from Greece and the Bulgarian mountains. In the north and central European lowlands, Great Britain, and Ireland, it is probably the most widely occurring slug. In northern Scandinavia it is scarce, and is mainly found as a
synanthrope A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν ''sýn'' "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ''ánthrōpos'' "man") is an organism that evolved to live near humans and benefit from human settlements and their environmental modifications (see also ...
. This species occurs in countries and islands including: *
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
*
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
*
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
*
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
*
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
*
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čejka T. & Dvořák L. (2010). "Komentovaný seznam měkkýšů zjištěných ve volné přírodě České a Slovenské republiky. nnotated list of mollusc species recorded outdoors in the Czech and Slovak Republics. ''
Malacologica Bohemoslovaca ''Malacologica Bohemoslovaca'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all aspects of malacology. It was published by the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 2005. It is published by the Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of ...
'', Suppl. 1: 1–37
PDF
– least concern (LC) *
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
*
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
*
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
*
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
*
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
*
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
Balashov I. & Gural-Sverlova N. 2012. An annotated checklist of the terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine. ''Journal of Conchology''. 41 (1): 91–109. The species has been widely introduced as a synanthrope to many regions: * North America, in parts of Northern Michigan and Southern Michigan as well as Kentucky * Canada *
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
*
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
*
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
– major slug pest in Buenos Aires provinceTulli M. C., Carmona D. M., López A. N., Manetti P. L., Vincini A. M. & Cendoya G. (2009). "Predation on the slug ''Deroceras reticulatum'' (Pulmonata: Stylommatophora) by ''Scarites anthracinus'' (Coleoptera: Carabidae)". ''Ecología Austral''. 19: 55–61
PDF
*
Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...
Crowley, T.E. & Pain, T. 1977. Mollusca not Charopidae. pp. 534–575, pl. 9–10. In: Basilewsky, P. (Ed.). La faune terrestre de l'île de Sainte-Hélène. Quatrième partie. Annales du Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Zoologie. 220:1–575. * Tasmania *
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
* central Asia


Description

As all other ''Deroceras'' it has a short
keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
at the back of the body. ''Deroceras reticulatum'' is very variable in colour, creamy or light coffee cream, rarely blackish spotted (slugs with spots may appear blackish). Behind the mantle there is the dark spots form a reticulate pattern. The skin is thick. Mucus is colourless, on irritation milky white. The slug cannot be distinguished from many other ''Deroceras'' species based only on its external appearance. This slug can be up to 40–60 mm long (preserved 25–30 mm). The size varies according to the habitat.
Reproductive system The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are al ...
: Penis is fleshy and with a silky sheen, in the shape of an irregular sac, in fully mature specimens divided into 2 parts by a deep lateral constriction. Penial gland has very variable shape, usually a few branches or a single long branch. Stimulator is large, conical and narrow. Retractor of the penis is inserted laterally. Vas deferens opens into penis wall facing the external body side. Rectal caecum is large. This slug can travel up to 40 feet (12.2 m) in one night.


Ecology


Habitat

''Deroceras reticulatum'' is almost exclusively restricted to cultivated areas, usually in open habitats, in meadows, near roadsides, in ruins, gardens and parks, not inside forests. External appearance is very similar to ''
Deroceras rodnae ''Deroceras rodnae'' is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae. Taxonomy ''Deroceras rodnae'' was originally described from the Rodna Mountains in Romania by Romanian malacolo ...
'', ''
Deroceras praecox ''Deroceras praecox'' is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae. Taxonomy When Wiktor (1966) described ''D. praecox'' he distinguished two forms on the basis of their ...
'' and the internal anatomy is very similar to '' Deroceras turcicum'', but those three species lives in natural habitats – in woods – and they co-occur with ''Deroceras reticulatum'' very rarely. It shelters under stones and ground litter (It does not burrow into the soil). It is active at night.


Feeding habits

This species is
omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
, feeding mainly on fresh leaves and fruits or seedings. ''Deroceras reticulatum'' is a serious pest of agricultural crops, garden cultivations and
horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
. After several years with continuous moist weather conditions abundance can seriously increase.


Life cycle

Life cycle covers a few months, usually two generations. The main reproductive phase is in summer and autumn. It lays hundreds of eggs which hatch during early summer."PACIFIC NORTHWEST NURSERY IPM. Snails/Slugs"
Oregon State University, last modified 29 July 2005.
Maximum age is about a year. Slugs die at the first frosts. Usually only eggs hibernate, sometimes also juveniles.


Predators

Various
carabid Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fa ...
beetles are predators of ''Deroceras reticlatum'', including: * the European garden beetle '' Carabus nemoralis'', is a beneficial predator (from the human perspective) because it eats the young of this species and also their eggs. * ''
Pterostichus melanarius ''Pterostichus melanarius,'' the rain beetle, is a type of carabid (ground beetle) of the genus ''Pterostichus''. It is native to Europe but is increasingly found in North America after being introduced species, introduced to the region in the 192 ...
''Oberholzer F. & Frank T. (2003). "Predation by the carabid Beetles ''Pterostichus melanarius'' and ''Poecilus cupreus'' on Slugs and Slug Eggs". '' Biocontrol Science and Technology'' 13(1): 99–110. . * '' Pterostichus madidus'' * '' Nebria brevicollis'' * '' Scarites anthracinus'' eats eggs and slugs in Argentina. * '' Poecilus cupreus''


Parasites

The bacterium ''
Moraxella osloensis ''Moraxella osloensis'' is a Gram-negative oxidase-positive, aerobic bacterium within the family Moraxellaceae in the gamma subdivision of the purple bacteria. ''Moraxella osloensis'' is a mutualistic symbiont of the slug-parasitic nematode '' ...
'' is a mutualistic symbiont of the slug-parasitic nematode ''
Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita ''Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita'' is a Facultative parasite, facultative parasitic nematode that can kill slugs and snails.Genena, M. A., Mostafa, F. A., Fouly, A. H., & Yousef, A. A. (2011). First record for the slug parasitic nematode, Phasmarh ...
''. In nature, ''Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita'' vectors ''Moraxella osloensis'' into the shell cavity of the slug host ''Deroceras reticulatum'' in which the bacteria multiply and kill the slug. ''Deroceras reticulatum'' can transfer ''
Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...
'' on its body surface. Parasites of ''Deroceras reticulatum'' include: * ''
Parelaphostrongylus tenuis ''Parelaphostrongylus tenuis'' (also known as meningeal worm or brainworm) is a neurotropic nematode parasite common to white-tailed deer, ''Odocoileus virginianus'', which causes damage to the central nervous system. Moose (''Alces alces'') ...
''
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...

"Brainworm"
accessed 14 December 2010.


References

This article incorporates CC-BY-2.0 text from the reference An R., SreevatsanS. & Grewal P. S. (2008). "''Moraxella osloensis'' Gene Expression in the Slug Host ''Deroceras reticulatum''". '' BMC Microbiology'' 8: 19. . and public domain text from the reference."Species summary for ''Deroceras reticulatum''"
AnimalBase AnimalBase is a project brought to life in 2004 and is maintained by the University of Göttingen, Germany. The goal of the AnimalBase project is to digitize early zoological literature, provide copyright-free open access to zoological works, and p ...
, last modified 29 August 2010, accessed 10 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


''Deroceras reticulatum''
images at
Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...
*
Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infr ...
br>Search
Distribution

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q1502135 Gastropods of Europe Agriolimacidae Gastropods described in 1774 Taxa named by Otto Friedrich Müller