Dusky Arion

Arion fuscus

Arion fuscus, also known as the "Dusky Arion", is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
Dusky Arion Slug - Arion subfuscus Bright orange slug that greatly resembles a carrot. Arion fuscus,Dusky Arion,Geotagged,Summer,United States,slug

Appearance

A 50-70 mm roundback slug. It is brown in colour, ranging from black-brown through olive-brown to orange and bright reddish-orange. Darker lateral bands are present. Dark pigment reaches under the pneumostome from back to front. The foot fringe is pale with thin lines. The sole is uniformly pale/translucent. The tentacles are pale. It does not contract into a bell shape when stimulated. The Dusky Arion differs from other Arion species in its yellow-orange body mucus. Genitalia: Atrium about half diameter of spermatheca, spermatheca spherical, oviduct large and swollen like in Arion lusitanicus.
Dusky Arion Slugs (Mating) - Arion subfuscus Arion slugs are hermaphrodites, and they can reproduce either by self- or cross-fertilization, depending upon conditions. When two slugs mate with each other, they exchange sperm with their protruding genitalia. If their sex organs become entangled, the slugs will simply bite them off in order to free themselves. From then onward, the emasculated slugs will only able to reproduce as females. Habitat: Mixed forest https://www.jungledragon.com/image/83479/dusky_arion_slugs_mating_-_arion_subfuscus.html Arion fuscus,Dusky Arion,Geotagged,Summer,United States,arion,mating slugs,slugs

Naming

Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud, 1805) is considered by some authors to be a partial synonym for Arion fuscus. Arion subfuscus (Draparnaud, 1805) and A. fuscus (Müller, 1774) have very similar morphology and have overlapping distributional ranges in northwestern Europe. Arion fuscus is widespread throughout Central, North and East Europe whereas A. subfuscus is restricted to West Europe. (For practical purposes the two are synonyms in Germany and in the Czech Republic.) The two taxa are referred to as the species complex Arion subfuscus/fuscus both members having several evolutionary lineages.They are only separable by alloenzyme analysis and gonad type.
Dusky Arion - Arion subfuscus This is a moderate sized slug that is brown with a darker lengthwise strip. It has orange body mucus, which gives its body a golden orange tint. I spotted it on the cap of a Stropharia rugosoannulata mushroom in a mixed forest. Arion,Arion fuscus,Arion subfuscus,Geotagged,Spring,United States,dusky arion,gastropod,mollusk,mycophagy,slug,terrestrial pulmonate gastropod

Distribution

This species occurs in European countries and islands including:

⤷  Austria
⤷  Bulgaria
⤷  Czech Republic - least concern
⤷  Germany
⤷  Netherlands
⤷  Poland
⤷  Slovakia
⤷  Great Britain
⤷  Ireland
⤷  China
⤷  and other areas
Dusky Arion Slug - Arion subfuscus This slug was hanging off the edge of a mossy log, trying to bridge the gap. Habitat: Coastal, mixed forest Arion fuscus,Dusky Arion,Geotagged,Spring,United States,arion,slug

Habitat

This slug lives under fallen logs and under bark in woodland areas, but it also lives in hedges, gardens, pastures and dunes.

References:

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Status: Not evaluated
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderPulmonata
FamilyArionidae
GenusArion
SpeciesA. fuscus
Photographed in
United States of America