''Limax doriae'', common name Doria's slug, is a species of air-breathing land

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, 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 ...

, 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 ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

in the family

Limacidae Limacidae, also known by their common name the keelback slugs, are a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large, air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Limacoidea. Distribution The distributio ...

, the keelback slugs.

Etymology

Jules René Bourguignat Jules René Bourguignat (19 August 1829, Brienne-le-Château, Brienne-Napoléon, Aube – 7 April 1892) was a French malacologist, a scientist who studied mollusks. He served as secretary-general of the ''Société malacologique de France''. He tr ...

(1829 - 1892) named this species in honor of the Marquis

Giacomo Doria Marquis Giacomo Doria (1 November 1840 – 19 September 1913) was an Italian naturalist, botanist, herpetologist, and politician. He was the founder of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Genoa in 1867, and director from then until his de ...

, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Subspecies

*''Limax doriae simplex'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria, Toscana); *''Limax doriae lineatus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria, Toscana); *''Limax doriae rubronotatus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria, Toscana); *''Limax doriae fuscus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria); *''Limax doriae brunneus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria); *''Limax doriae lineatus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria); *''Limax doriae sanguineus'' Lessona & Pollonera 1882 (Piemonte, Liguria). Alzona, C. 1971: Malacofauna Italica. Catalogo e bibliografia dei molluschi viventi,terrestri e d'acqua dolce. - Atti Soc. ital. Sci. nat., Mus. Civ. St. Nat., Milano, 111: 1-433.: Piemonte, Liguria, Toscana.

Description

''Limax doriae'' reaches a length of about .Bourguignat, J. R. 1861.
Note sur divers limaciens nouveaux ou peu connus.
- Revue et Magasin de Zoologie pure et appliquée (2) 13: 256, Pl. 8, 16. Paris.

Distribution

This species is endemic to the French Alpes-Maritimes and to a few northern

regions: (

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

).Animal Base
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Habitat

This species prefers humid and shady areas, and is found resting under stones.

Bibliography

* Sordelli, F. 1871. Anatomia del Limax Doriae, Bourg., nei suoi rapporti con altre specie congeneri. - Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali 13 (3) 1870 : 242-253, Tav. 3. Milano. * Lessona, Mario & Carlo Pollonera 1882
Monografia dei limacidi italiani.
S.1-82, Taf.1-3. Turin, Loescher. * Welter-Schultes, F. (2012): European non-marine molluscs, a guide for species identification. 760 pp.

References

External links

* Clemens M. Brandstette

Natura Mediterraneo

Limacidae Gastropods described in 1861 {{Limacidae-stub