Here in Northwest part of USA, we can find a lot of slug. They like to stay in a cold place. They look yuck the first time I saw it. They are actually like snail without shell.
The slug is a gastropod, a soft-bodied type of land mollusk that lacks an external shell - they are closely related to snails. These invertebrates (animals with no backbone) usually live in moist areas on land. The biggest slug in North America is the plant-eating banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus).
The slug creeps along on its large, muscular foot by contracting a series of muscles on the underside of the body (making a wave that goes from the back end to the front). A special gland in the foot secretes mucus (a slimy fluid) that helps the slug move. The slug leaves a trail of slime behind them when they move.
Slugs have two pairs of tentacles on the head - they have a light-sensitive eyespot located on the top of each of the larger tentacles. The smaller pair of tentacles is used for the sense of smell and the sense of touch.
Most slugs eat plants, fungus and decaying vegetable material (they are detrivores or herbivores), but some are predators (carnivores). Slugs eat using a radula, a rough tongue-like organ that has thousands of tiny tooth-like protrusions called denticles.
Slugs breathe oxygen through a hole in the side of their head (a pneumostome, meaning "air hole"). Slugs also absorb oxygen directly through their moist skin.
Slugs are hermaphroditic - each slug contains both male and female reproductive organs. Slugs lay clutches of 20 to 100 tiny eggs on the surface of the soil; they can fertilize the eggs themselves.
Many animals eat slugs, including birds, fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, mammals (like raccoons and shrews), and many insects (including beetles).
Slugs have two pairs of tentacles on the head - they have a light-sensitive eyespot located on the top of each of the larger tentacles. The smaller pair of tentacles is used for the sense of smell and the sense of touch.
Most slugs eat plants, fungus and decaying vegetable material (they are detrivores or herbivores), but some are predators (carnivores). Slugs eat using a radula, a rough tongue-like organ that has thousands of tiny tooth-like protrusions called denticles.
Slugs breathe oxygen through a hole in the side of their head (a pneumostome, meaning "air hole"). Slugs also absorb oxygen directly through their moist skin.
Slugs are hermaphroditic - each slug contains both male and female reproductive organs. Slugs lay clutches of 20 to 100 tiny eggs on the surface of the soil; they can fertilize the eggs themselves.
Many animals eat slugs, including birds, fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, mammals (like raccoons and shrews), and many insects (including beetles).
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