Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Gastropoda
Subclassis: Heterobranchia
Infraclassis: Euthyneura
Cohors: Tectipleura
Subcohors: Panpulmonata
Superordo: Eupulmonata
Ordo: Stylommatophora
Subordo: Helicina
Infraordo: Rhytidoidei
Superfamilia: Rhytidoidea
Familia: Rhytididae
Subfamilia: Chlamydephorinae
Genus: Chlamydephorus
Species (10): C. bruggeni – C. burnupi – C. dimidius – C. gibbonsi – C. lawrencei – C. parvus – C. purcelli – C. septentrionalis – C. sexangulus – C. watsoni
Name
Chlamydephorus Binney, 1879
Synonyms
Apera Heynemann, 1885
References
Links
Chlamydephorus in the World Register of Marine Species
Chlamydephorus is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Chlamydephoridae. It is the only genus within the family Chlamydephoridae.[1]
Taxonomy
The family Chlamydephoridae has no subfamilies and it is placed in the superfamily Rhytidoidea.
Chlamydephorus is the type genus of the family Chlamydephoridae.
Species
Species within the genus Chlamydephorus include:
Chlamydephorus bruggeni
Chlamydephorus burnupi (Smith, 1892) - Burnup's hunter slug
Chlamydephorus dimidius (Watson, 1915) - Snake skin hunter slug
Chlamydephorus gibbonsi Binney, 1879
Chlamydephorus purcelli (Collinge, 1901) - Purcell's hunter slug
Chlamydephorus sexangulus
Distribution
Species of Chlamydephorus occur across southern Africa; they are most commonly found in the Natal region of South Africa.[3]
Description
Chlamydephorus slugs have an internal vestigial shell. The pallial organs are located at the posterior end of the elongated body and embedded under the dorsal integument. The elongation of the buccal mass varies greatly among the different species of the family and this is reflected in the size of the radula and the number of teeth. In all species the jaw is absent. The largest individuals of these slugs can be up to 120 mm in length.[3]
Ecology
These slugs are believed to be mostly subterranean dwellers. Gut analysis of one species found both plant and animal matter, indicating that they are facultative predators who will also eat vegetation. They have been recorded as eating pill millipedes of the genus Sphaerotherium,[4] snails, other arthropods and soft-bodied invertebrates such as earthworms. The prey is subdued by injecting a toxin into its flesh.[3]
References
Herbert D. G. (1997). "The terrestrial slugs of KwaZulu-Natal: diversity, biogeography and conservation (Mollusca: Pulmonata)". Annals of the Natal Museum 38: 197-239. PDF.
Heynemann (1885). Jahrb. dtsch. malak. Ges. 12: 20.
G. M. Barker, ed. (2004). Natural Enemies of Terrestrial Molluscs. p. 317.
Herbert D. G. (2000). "Dining on diplopods: remarkable feeding behaviour in chlamydephorid slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda)". Journal of Zoology 251(1): 1–5. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00586.x.
Further reading
Boss K. J. (1982). Mollusca. In: Parker, S.P., Synopsis and Classification of Living Organisms, vol. 1. McGraw-Hill, New York: 945–1166.
Forcart L. (1963) "Slugs of South Africa". Journal of Molluscan Studies 35(2–3): 103–110.
Schlleyko A. A. (2000). "Treatise on Recent terrestrial pulmonate molluscs. Part 6. Rhytididae, Chlamydephoridae, Systrophiidae, Haplotrematidae, Streptaxidae, Spiraxidae, Oleacinidae, Testacellidae". Ruthenica, Suppl. 2: 729–880.
Watson H. (1915). "Studies on carnivorous slugs of South Africa". African Invertebrates. 107-267 + plates VII-XXIV.
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