Lehmannia marginata is species of air-breathing land slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

, a terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Limacidae

Limacidae

Limacidae, 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 :...

. Sometimes classified in the genus Limax

Limax

Limax is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Limacidae.The generic name Limax literally means "slug"....

, the species is distinct in its ecology, and its nearly transparent body. It is a medium-sized species, rarely exceeding 12 cm in body length. The body is fairly long and narrow, with a marked keel. The keel looks lighter than the remaining body against the darker innards.

In contrast to predominately carnivorous species like the Spanish slug

Spanish slug

The Spanish slug, scientific name Arion vulgaris, more commonly known in English-speaking countries under the incorrectly applied Latin name, Arion lusitanicus, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.This is a...

 or the grey slug, L. marginata eats lichen

Lichen

Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

, algae

Algae

Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...

 and mushroom

Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...

s, and will only eat other dead slugs if no other food is available.

Distribution

This species is known to occur in a number of countries and islands including:

• Czech Republic
• Netherlands
• Slovakia
• Poland
• Great Britain
• Ireland
• Norway
  Norway
  Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
  
  
• and other areas

External links

• Species summary for Lehmannia marginata. AnimalBase