A
giant pink slug endemic to Mount Kaputar
(© NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service)
Sometimes, the
most surprising discoveries can be right before our eyes, without even being
recognised. Take the remarkable case of the giant pink slugs of remote Mount Kaputar in New South
Wales, Australia.
Measuring a very
sizeable 8 in long, and boasting an extremely bright, fluorescent pink body
colouration that looks more akin to a particularly lurid Photoshop creation
than anything designed by Mother Nature, these exceptionally eyecatching, moss-munching
molluscs are found nowhere else on Earth.
They have long been known to scientists, but until very recently were simply assumed to be a non-taxonomic variety of the red triangle slug Triboniophorus graeffei. Named after a distinctive triangular marking present upon its mantle, this is a smaller, less vividly-hued but very common species along Australia's east coast that exists in a range of different colours.
They have long been known to scientists, but until very recently were simply assumed to be a non-taxonomic variety of the red triangle slug Triboniophorus graeffei. Named after a distinctive triangular marking present upon its mantle, this is a smaller, less vividly-hued but very common species along Australia's east coast that exists in a range of different colours.
Two
green specimens of the red triangle slug (public domain)
Following a new
study of their morphology and genetic make-up, however, Mount Kaputar's giant pink
slugs have been exposed as a distinct, valid species in their own right. This
now awaits formal description and naming, although it is already known
colloquially as the blood slug on account of its startling colouration.
What makes its
belated taxonomic recognition particularly interesting and zoologically
significant is that this is now the only species belonging to the family Athoracophoridae
that is known from inland Australia – all other
species within the afore-mentioned family of land slugs (known as leaf-veined
slugs) are of coastal occurrence.
Its separate
species status means that this shocking-pink mega-mollusc also becomes Australia's largest
native species of land slug. But why is it pink? As it lives in areas of the
forest floor richly carpeted with red eucalyptus leaves, its neon-pink hue may actually
afford it camouflage.
Giant pink slug – close-up of its
head (pic source: http://www.factzoo.com/invertebrates/giant-pink-slug-slimy-fashion.html)
Posts
Some original links:
ReplyDeletewww.io9.com/holy-crap-its-a-hot-pink-slug-510667666
www.tinyurl.com/SMH-PinkSlug
www.tinyurl.com/TreeHugger-PinkSlug
Thanks David, much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteBlood Slug? How about a nicer name like the Flamingo Slug?
ReplyDeleteWhy not indeed? I like flamingo slug - very evocative, memorable.
Delete