Description
Banana slugs are often bright yellow (giving rise to the banana sobriquet) although they may also be green, brown, or white. Some slugs have black spots (Ariolimax columbianus) which may be so extensive as to make the animal look almost solid black.
The Pacific banana slug is the second-largest species of terrestrial slug in the world, growing up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long, and weights of 115 grams (4.1 ounces). (The largest slug species is Limax cinereoniger of Europe, which can reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.)
Banana slugs can move at 61⁄2 inches (17 cm) per minute.
Slugs use two pairs of tentacles to sense their environment. The larger, upper pair, termed "eyestalks," are used to detect light or movement. The second, lower pair are used to detect chemicals. The tentacles can retract and extend themselves to avoid damage.
Banana slugs have a single lung which opens externally via pneumostome. The pneumostome lung cavity is heavily vascularized to allow gas exchange. Dehydration is a major problem for the mollusk. Banana slugs excrete a thick coating of mucus around their bodies and can also aestivate. They secrete a protective layer of mucus, and insulate themselves with a layer of soil and leaves. They remain inactive in this state until the environment is moist again.
The slime also contains pheromones to attract other slugs for mating. Slugs are hermaphrodites, and reproduce by exchanging sperm with their mate. They produce up to 75 translucent eggs, which are laid in a log or on leaves. Slugs mate and lay eggs throughout the year. The adults provide no further care for their eggs beyond finding a suitable hiding spot, and the eggs are abandoned as soon as the clutch is laid.
Read more about this topic: Banana Slug
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The Sage of Toronto ... spent several decades marveling at the numerous freedoms created by a “global village” instantly and effortlessly accessible to all. Villages, unlike towns, have always been ruled by conformism, isolation, petty surveillance, boredom and repetitive malicious gossip about the same families. Which is a precise enough description of the global spectacle’s present vulgarity.”
—Guy Debord (b. 1931)
“A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)