''Prophysaon'',

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 contra ...

taildropper slugs, 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 slugs,

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

Ariolimacidae Ariolimacidae is a family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Arionoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). Subfamilies and genera The family Ariolimac ...

. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=995729 on 2021-08-26 These slugs can self-amputate (

autotomy Autotomy (from the Greek ''auto-'', "self-" and ''tome'', "severing", αὐτοτομία) or self-amputation, is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude ...

) a portion of their tail.Rory J. Mc Donnel, Timothy D. Paine & Michael J. Gormally. 2009.
Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California
''. 21 pp., . page 9 This autotomy has been observed in the species ''

Prophysaon andersoni ''Prophysaon andersoni'', common name the reticulate taildropper, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. These slugs are notable for being able to self-amp ...

''.

Distribution

This genus of slugs occurs in North America, including California and Oregon.

Species

Species in the genus ''Prophysaon'' include 10 species (9 according to Turgeon et al. 1998 plus one known undescribed species): * ''

'' (J. G. Cooper, 1872) - Reticulate Taildropper, Anderson's Taildropper Slug * ''

Prophysaon boreale ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Pilsbry, 1948 - Northern Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon coeruleum ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Cockerell, 1890 - Blue-Gray Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon dubium ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Cockerell, 1890 - Papillose Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon fasciatum ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Cockerell in W. G. Binney - Banded Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon foliolatum ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' ( Gould, 1851) - Yellow-bordered Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon humile ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Cockerell, 1890 - Smoky Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon obscurum ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' (Cockerell, 1890) - Mottled Taildropper * ''

Prophysaon vanattae ''Prophysaon'', common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed th ...

'' Pilsbry, 1948 - Scarlet-backed Taildropper ** ''Prophysaon vanattae'' var. ''pardalis'' * ''Prophysaon'' undescribed species from

Siskiyou County, California Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregi ...

.Roth B. & Sadeghian P. S. 2006. ''Checklist of the Land Snails and Slugs of California''. Contributions in Science 3. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, California. 82 pp. ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Prophysaon flavum'' Cockerell, 1890: synonym of ''Prophysaon andersonii'' (J.G. Cooper, 1872) * ''Prophysaon hemphilli'' Bland & W. G. Binney, 1873: synonym of ''Prophysaon andersonii'' (J.G. Cooper, 1872) * ''Prophysaon pacificum'' Cockerell, 1890: synonym of ''Prophysaon andersonii'' (J.G. Cooper, 1872)

References

External links

* information about ''Prophysaon andersoni'': http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/arionidae.html * Wilke T. & Duncan N. 2004
''Phylogeographical patterns in the American Pacific Northwest: lessons from the arionid slug Prophysaon coeruleum''
Molecular Ecology, volume 13, issue 8, pages 2303-2315.
''Prophysaon'' sp. 1 A Terrestrial Slug

NatureServe NatureServe, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Arlington County, Virginia, US, that provides proprietary wildlife conservation-related data, tools, and services to private and government clients, partner organizations, and the public. Nat ...

Explorer. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3074532 Ariolimacidae