Limax cinereoniger, the ash-black slug is a large species of air-breathing land slug in the terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc family Limacidae, the keelback slugs. This is the largest land slug species in the world.

Distribution

This slug is native to Europe. It is recorded in most of Europe, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic (where it is of least concern), Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Great Britain, Ireland, Finland, Ukraine, and several other countries. It occurs east as far as the Urals. It is common in much of its range, but mostly rare or absent in southernmost Europe. Although known from the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans, there are no records from Portugal or Greece.

[Reproductive system of Limax cinereoniger:

pr - penial retractor muscle; pe - penis; at - atrium; bc - bursa copulatrix; ov - oviduct. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Limax///cinereoniger///reproductive///system.png]

Description

With a maximum length exceeding 20 centimeters, this species is the largest land slug.

Habitat

This species lives in woodlands and occasionally parks.

Parasites

Parasites of Limax cinereoniger include nematodes of genus Elaphostrongylus and Agfa flexilis.