Prophysaon, common name taildropper slugs, is a genus of air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariolimacidae.[2]
| Prophysaon | |
|---|---|
| |
| Prophysaon andersoni | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Heterobranchia |
| Order: | Stylommatophora |
| Infraorder: | Arionoidei |
| Superfamily: | Arionoidea |
| Family: | Ariolimacidae |
| Genus: | Prophysaon Bland & W. G. Binney, 1873[1] |
| Synonyms | |
| |
These slugs can self-amputate (autotomy) a portion of their tail.[3] This autotomy has been observed in the species Prophysaon andersoni.[4]
Distribution edit
This genus of slugs occurs in North America, including California and Oregon.
Species edit
Species in the genus Prophysaon include 10 species (9 according to Turgeon et al. 1998[5][6] plus one known undescribed species[3]):
- Prophysaon andersoni (J. G. Cooper, 1872) - Reticulate Taildropper, Anderson's Taildropper Slug
- Prophysaon boreale Pilsbry, 1948 - Northern Taildropper
- Prophysaon coeruleum Cockerell, 1890 - Blue-Gray Taildropper
- Prophysaon dubium Cockerell, 1890 - Papillose Taildropper
- Prophysaon fasciatum Cockerell in W. G. Binney - Banded Taildropper
- Prophysaon foliolatum (Gould, 1851) - Yellow-bordered Taildropper
- Prophysaon humile Cockerell, 1890 - Smoky Taildropper
- Prophysaon obscurum (Cockerell, 1890) - Mottled Taildropper
- Prophysaon vanattae Pilsbry, 1948 - Scarlet-backed Taildropper
- Prophysaon vanattae var. pardalis
- Prophysaon undescribed species from Siskiyou County, California.[3][7]
- Species brought into synonymy
- Prophysaon flavum Cockerell, 1890: synonym of Prophysaon andersonii (J.G. Cooper, 1872)
- Prophysaon hemphilli Bland & W. G. Binney, 1873: synonym of Prophysaon andersonii (J.G. Cooper, 1872)
- Prophysaon pacificum Cockerell, 1890: synonym of Prophysaon andersonii (J.G. Cooper, 1872)
References edit
- ^ Bland, Thomas; Binney, W. G. (1873). "On Prophysaon, a New Pulmonate Mollusk, on Ariolimax, on Helix Lymnuchus and Other Species". Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. 10: 293.
- ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Prophysaon Bland & W.G. Binney, 1873. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=995729 on 2021-08-26
- ^ a b c Rory J. Mc Donnel, Timothy D. Paine & Michael J. Gormally. 2009. Slugs: A Guide to the Invasive and Native Fauna of California Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine. 21 pp., ISBN 978-1-60107-564-2. page 9
- ^ Hand, C., and W.M. Ingram. 1950. Natural history observations on Prophysaon andersoni (J.G. Cooper) with special reference to amputation. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 49: 15-28.
- ^ Thomas E. Burke. MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TERRESTRIAL MOLLUSK SPECIES Prophysaon coeruleum, Blue-Gray Taildropper & Prophysaon dubium, Papillose Taildropper http://www.blm.gov/or/plans/surveyandmanage/MR/TM4Species/2000-015_3.pdf
- ^ ITIS accessed 17 January 2009.
- ^ Roth B. & Sadeghian P. S. 2006. Checklist of the Land Snails and Slugs of California. Contributions in Science 3. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, California. 82 pp.
External links edit
- information about Prophysaon andersoni: http://www.livinglandscapes.bc.ca/cbasin/molluscs/arionidae.html
- Wilke T. & Duncan N. 2004. Phylogeographical patterns in the American Pacific Northwest: lessons from the arionid slug Prophysaon coeruleum. Molecular Ecology, volume 13, issue 8, pages 2303–2315.
- Prophysaon sp. 1 A Terrestrial Slug. NatureServe Explorer.