Geomalacus malagensis is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of air-breathing land slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

, a terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Arionidae

Arionidae

Arionidae, common name the "roundback slugs" or "round back slugs" are a taxonomic family of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Arionoidea.- Distribution :...

, the round back slugs.

Distribution

Distribution of Geomalacus malagensis include southern Spain and Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

.

Description

This slug species is pale beige-greenish to beige-grey, sometimes also yellowish-orange, with blackish narrow lateral bands having clearly marked upper edges and blurry lower edges, running from posterior end to frontal section of mantle, above the pneumostome

Pneumostome

The pneumostome is a feature of the external body anatomy of an air-breathing land slug or land snail. It is a part of the respiratory system of gastropods....

. The spape of the slug is elongate, dorso-ventrally flattened (oval in transversal cut). The head is very short (only 2-3 mm protruding from under the mantle

Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...

). Tentacles are brown and long. Mantle length covers 35 % of body. There are 26 grooves between medial line of dorsum and pneumostome. Sole is dirty cream, transparent (viscera visible in live slugs), medial section narrower than lateral sections and slightly concave. Mucus is colourless and thin, also when irritated, sometimes with orange hue. Mucus secreted onto the ground while crawling breaks into thin threads and coagulates into a unique spider-web like pattern, not seen in Arion species.

The length of the body is up to 80 × 10.5 mm (preserved 58 × 11 mm).

Ecology

Geomalacus malagensis is frequent on calcareous soil, in gardens, shrubland and open forests.

Its seems to feeds on fruits and other soft parts of plants.

Sexually mature slugs are found in spring and autumn.

Captured slugs were found infected with nematode

Nematode

The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...

s.