banana slug ~ 07/28/11 ~ Butano

banana slug
Ariolimax sp.

I love my picture of the pneumostome. Think one honkin' huge nostril. It almost looks like an eyeless eye, if you know what I mean. Oddly enough there's only one and it's always on the right side. Right? For much better information than I could ever provide, check out Snail's Tails post on how a slug breathes.

banana slug ~ 07/27/11 ~ Butano

banana slug
Ariolimax sp.

Yep, I know, I just posted another banana slug above. True to my policy on Nature ID, I post according to the date I took the photos. In any case, I wanted to show how big, how small, and how sexy they can be. For more information on slug love, check out this former UCSC's grad student's page and this YouTube vid. They're surprisingly tender in a romantic kind of way... um, except for a certain gnawing behavior they sometimes exhibit.

I've had a difficult time finding decent links to provide with my banana slug posts, hence why I still don't know which of the three species of Ariolimax I see. Two of the top google results were written by undergrad students and are not entirely accurate, so I refrain from linking to their univeristy-sponsored sites. For one of the best comprehensive web pages I've found on banana slugs, check out Clare at Curbstone Valley Farm. I've been impressed with the amount of research she does for her posts. I'd rather link for two reasons: 1) I'm pretty lazy about writing and 2) I try my best to not plagiarize or inadvertently perpetuate misinformation. Speaking of which in a similar vein, I can't believe how many images are re-purposed repeatedly on the web, some under creative commons licenses and others flat-out stolen. Suffice it to say, I prefer bloggers who use their own pictures.

ps - That former UCSC grad student I linked to above got her PhD and then became a professional cyclist with dreams of going to the 2012 Olympics. I only know this because I tried e-mailing her for slug ID help, got a daemon, and then googled her. She's now retired from cycling after doing some prioritizing. Amazing. I'm absolutely fascinated by the multiple lives people can lead in a lifetime. There's hope for me, yet.

banana slug
Ariolimax sp.

This is the first non-yellow banana slug I've seen in California. Additionally, it's the first time I've seen a California one not under redwood trees. This pic was taken at Jacks Peak, which is dominated by Monterey pines and oaks, as evidenced by the leaf litter in the pic above. Interesting to note, I've seen this darker version while hiking in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon (but didn't know what they were at the time), also not under redwood trees. I wonder if the habitat has anything to do with the coloring of the slug. We tried to take a picture with my hand next to it, but our camera battery died after the first flash. Based on the size of my hand, I would say this individual was slightly more than 6 inches in length. I'm still searching for a source that can describe the visible difference between the 3 Ariolimax species.

ps - Had I remembered it was Valentine's Day when I posted this morning (02/14/11), I probably would have picked something more romantic... not that I'm much of a softy, ever.

banana slug ~ 12/21/10 ~ Mt. Madonna

banana slug
Ariolimax sp.

It was total slugville underneath the redwoods and madrones at Mt. Madonna in the gentle rain. I easily lost count of how many native banana slugs we spotted during our hikes. True to my blog rules, all of these unedited pictures were taken on 12/21/10. They're fairly camera shy and quickly retracted their optical and sensory tentacles as we walked up to them. It took more patience than I generally have while waiting for the tentacles to reappear for the first photo above. Many of the banana slugs were longer than the span of my hand, from thumb to pinky, i.e., > 7". Most appeared to have egg masses sticking to their tail ends. Or it could have been the mucous/slime plug I've read about?

I was hoping to be able to ID the banana slug to species, but my numerous internet searches didn't offer any information on how to distinguish between Ariolimax columbianus (Pacific banana slug), A. dolichophallus (slender banana slug), and A. californicus (California banana slug). Color does not seem to be an identifying trait as they can be white, black, brown, or varying shades of yellow, all with or without spots. Not even my Field Guide to the Slug had any identifying information within the Ariolimax genus. However, I did find more sites about slug sex than I ever wanted to know.

For more information, click on any of the embedded links above, or check out a favorite local blogger's very nice summary of banana slugs at Curbstone Valley Farm. If anyone has better information, I'd love to hear from you.

banana slug
Ariolimax sp.

This is perfect for my first Nisene Marks State Park post. Thanks, hubby! It happens to be UCSC's infamous mascot. We rarely see these anywhere but Nisene under the redwoods. I'm looking into it and will add more info here.