Family Veronicellidae(Vaginulidae)
Genus Angustipes
Genus Laevicaulis
Genus Sarasinula
Genus Vaginulus
Vaginulus plebeius(photo:Joshua S. Rose
Genus Veronicella
Laevicaulis natalensis Krauss,1848
Description:Colour fawn-brown to dark brown,usually with greyish markings,sometimes uniform
dark grey animals appear.Sole light yellowish-white.Length up to 110 mm.
Habitat:Variable:forest,gardens to bushveld and savanna.
Distribution:Zimbabwe,Mozambique to the southern Cape.Up to 1800 mtrs.
Laevicaulis alte Ferussac,1821
Description:Very similar to L.natalensis,and not reliable to identify without dissection.The penial verge in L.alte is somewhat longer
and lacks the swelling L.
natalensis has at the tip.Instead there is a swollen ring around the base.
Most animals are dark grey with a pale brown line running down the middle.
Habitat:Variable:from forest to gardens.
Distribution:Central Africa to Transkei,but introduced to many tropical regions.
Laevicaulis haroldi Dundee,1980
Description:Longer and more slender than other Laevicaulis species,its wrinkled look gives it more the
appearance of a caterpillar than a slug.
Colour dark brown to creamish often banded in these colours.Head and end of the body darker.
Upper pair of tentacles light brown,lower pair greyish,sole creamish coloured.
Length up to 90 mm.
Habitat:Gardens,aquatic vegetation.
Distribution:Eastern South-Africa;KwaZulu-Natal,endangered.
Veronicella sloanei Cuvier,1817
Extended this slug can measure 120 mm and is very variable in color usually being
pale yellowish,cream to white or sometimes brownish with or without darker spots and
speckles.The only constant coloring is found on the tentacles which are bluish grey
with a brown eye.
On Jamaica,Barbados,Bermuda,Dominica,Dominican Republic,Saint Lucia and St. Vincent.
(Photo courtesy of David Robinson).
Family Rathouisiidae Genus Atopos Genus Rathouisia
Slugs in this Family have no shell and a large mantle,covering the whole back. The foot is separated by a groove from the rest of the body. The mantle sides(called hyponota)are separated from the back by a ridge, called the perinotum.Behind the foot and below the hyponotum the pneumostome and the anus open.On the right side of the body is the opening of the male genitalia,the female one is near the middle of the hyponotum. The species appear in tropical areas of Asia,Africa and America,feeding at night on plant material.