#TropicalLeatherleaf<br />#Slugs<br />#SlugsofPakistan<br />#WildlifeofPakistan<br />#AhmadNetix<br /><br />Tropical Leatherleaf Slug (Laevicaulis alte) | Description and Distribution | Invertebrates [ENGLISH]<br /><br />Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc.<br />The word slug is used for any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a much-reduced shell, or only a small internal shell.<br />Slugs’ bodies are made up mostly of water and, without a full-sized shell.<br />Their soft tissues are prone to desiccation.<br />They must generate protective mucus to survive.<br />Many species are most active just after a rain because of the moist ground or during night time.<br />In drier conditions, they hide in damp places such as under tree bark, fallen logs, rocks and manmade structures.<br />Slugs produce two types of mucus: one is thin and watery, and the other thick and sticky.<br />Both kinds of mucus are hygroscopic.<br />The thin mucus spreads from the foot's centre to its edges, whereas the thick mucus spreads from front to back.<br />Slugs also produce thick mucus that coats the whole body of the animal.<br />The mucus secreted by the foot contains fibres that help prevent the slug from slipping down vertical surfaces.<br />This is a tropical land slug, called tropical leatherleaf or Laevicaulis alte.<br />Tropical leatherleaf is a round, dark-coloured slug with no shell.<br />Its length is 7 to 8 centimetres or 2.8 to 3.1 inches.<br />This slug has a unique, very narrow foot; juvenile specimens have a foot 1 millimetre in width, and adult specimens have a foot 4 to 5 millimetres wide.<br />The tentacles are small, 2 to 3 millimetres long.<br />The main predator of this slug is a frog, the Indian bullfrog.<br />The species is probably indigenous to Africa, both western Africa and eastern Africa, particularly Tanzania.<br />It has been introduced and has become an invasive species in Southern Asia, Pratas Island, Taiwan, United States (Hawaii), Islands in the Indian Ocean, Australia and Samoa.<br />Tropical leatherleaf lives in dry areas, mostly at lower altitudes.<br />The slug hatches from eggs.<br />The species has several adaptations for living in dry conditions: a rounded shape with as small as possible surface area, and a narrow foot to reduce evaporation.<br />Juvenile specimens search for food always at night, and stay buried in the soil during the day.<br />Larger specimens are active during the day sometimes.<br />The slug can grow up from 0.5 to 4 centimetres in length in 7 months.
