Description
The size of the adult slug is 80–120 mm. The colour of the Spanish slug is brownish or reddish brown, or brightly orange. The tentacles are darker. Colouration varies, but not within the same population. Adults differ little from Arion rufus, in contrast to the brightly coloured and banded juveniles that allow reliable determination of this species.
Reproductive system: The atrium is small. The oviduct is large and swollen, with the same diameter as atrium. The spermatheca is spherical, its diameter twice of oviduct. The long, anteriorly swollen oviductus with large longitudinal ligula inside is distinctive of Arion vulgaris.
When disturbed, the slugs will emit copious amounts of mucus. When killed in boiling water (one of several methods used in the fight against the species as an invasive organism), the mucus will colour the water yellow.
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