Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Testacelloidea Genus Testacella Phylum Mollusca | Class Gastropoda Family Testacellidae Scientific name Testacella scutulum Rank Species | |
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Similar Testacella, Shelled slug, Testacella maugei, Tandonia sowerbyi, Tandonia | ||
Testacella scutulum is an air-breathing, carnivorous land slug, a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Testacellidae, the shelled slugs.
Contents
Like other species in the genus, this European slug eats earthworms, spends most of its life underground, and is rarely seen.
Distribution
This species is known to occur in a number of European countries and islands including:
Description
This slug, like others in the family, has a small shell which is situated towards the rear of the animal. The specific name means "shield", a reference to the shape of the shell.
The animal is yellow with black or brown spots.The foot fringe and sole are usually orange.Thelateral grooves join before reaching their common origin at the front edge of themantle.The shell is narrower than in Testacella haliotidea and nearly triangular; flattened, sometimes concave, outer margin of the aperture sharply truncate and without angle at the columella. Size:Animal 8-12 cm long, shell 6-7 (length) x 3.5-4.5 (width) mm