Sarasinula plebeia
Encyclopedia
Sarasinula plebeia, common name the bean slug, is a species
of air-breathing land slug
, a terrestrial
pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Veronicellidae
, the leatherleaf slugs.
from New Caledonia
in 1868. The type locality is New Caledonia.
Distribution of Sarasinula plebeia include:
It was also introduced to Australasia and some Pacific island groups:
This species is already established in the USA, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species
which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine
significance in the USA.
.
gene of Sarasinula plebeia were published by Dayrat et al. (2001) up to April 2010.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
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 Veronicellidae
Veronicellidae
The Veronicellidae, common name the leatherleaf slugs, are a terrestrial family of pulmonate slugs.This family has no subfamilies ....
, the leatherleaf slugs.
Distribution
Sarasinula plebeia was originally discovered and described under name Vaginulus plebeius by French zoologist Paul Henri FischerPaul Henri Fischer
Paul Henri Fischer, was a French physician, zoologist and paleontologist.-Biography:He studied science and medicine, securing doctorates in both, and became assistant in paleontology at the Museum of Natural History in Paris. He was made assistant naturalist there in 1872. Beginning in 1856, he...
from New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in 1868. The type locality is New Caledonia.
Distribution of Sarasinula plebeia include:
- Cuba
- Jamaica
- Saint MartinSaint MartinSaint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
, Leeward IslandsLeeward IslandsThe Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean... - Dominica
- CanouanCanouanCanouan is an island in the Grenadines Islands belonging to St Vincent. It is a tiny island, measuring only 3.5 miles by 1.25 miles.A barrier reef runs along the Atlantic side of the island. The highest point on the island is Mount Royal. Two bays, Glossy and Friendship, separate the southern side...
- Saba Island
- southern USA
- from Mexico to Panama:
- Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, Brazil - Venezuela
It was also introduced to Australasia and some Pacific island groups:
- SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Mariana Islands - Ritidian PointRitidian Point-References:*Bendure, G. & Friary, N. Micronesia:A travel survival kit. South Yarra, VIC: Lonely Planet....
, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United... - San José, LeyteLeyteLeyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Philippines - Wasi, Ambon IslandAmbon IslandAmbon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...
, Moluccas - Vate, Aoba IslandAoba IslandAoba, also known as Ambae or Leper's Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near . Ambae has a population of less than 10,000, divided into 3-4 discernible language groups...
, MalakulaMalakulaMalakula Island , also spelled Malekula, is the second-largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, in the Pacific Ocean region of Melanesia...
Island, Espiritu SantoEspiritu SantoEspiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
and Malo IslandMalo IslandMalo is an island in Vanuatu, off the southern coast of the larger Espiritu Santo in Sanma Province. It has a circumference of and an area of . In 1979 the island had a population of 2,312. In 1999, the population numbered about 3000...
, New HebridesNew HebridesNew Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
This species is already established in the USA, and is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
significance in the USA.
As a pest
In Central America, this species is a serious pest of agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
Genetics
Although the species is economically important, only partial sequences of 28S ribosomal RNA28S ribosomal RNA
28S ribosomal RNA is the eukaryotic nuclear homologue of the prokaryotic 23S ribosomal RNA; this is the structural RNA for the large component of eukaryotic cytoplasmic ribosomes, and thus one of the basic components of all eukaryotic cells....
gene of Sarasinula plebeia were published by Dayrat et al. (2001) up to April 2010.
Further reading
- Thomé J. W. (1975). "Os gêneros da familia Veronicellidae nas Américas (Mollusca; Gastropoda)". Iheringia Zoologia 48: 3-56.
- Rueda A. A., Slansky F. & Wheeler G. S. (1991). "Compensatory feeding response of the slug Sarasinula plebeia to dietary dilution ". Oecologia 88(2): 181-188. doi:10.1007/BF00320809
- Rueda A., Caballero R., Kaminsky R. & Andrews K. L. (2002) "Vaginulidae in Central America, with emphasis on the bean slug Sarasinula plebeia (Fischer)". In: Barker G. M. (ed.). Molluscs as crop pests. CABI Publishing. abstract
External links
- Sarasinula plebeia at National Center for Biotechnology InformationNational Center for Biotechnology InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information is part of the United States National Library of Medicine , a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The NCBI is located in Bethesda, Maryland and was founded in 1988 through legislation sponsored by Senator Claude Pepper...
(NCBI) - Sarasinula plebeia on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
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