Deroceras praecox

Deroceras praecox is a species of small air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Agriolimacidae.

Deroceras praecox
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Agriolimacidae
Genus:	Deroceras
Species:	D. praecox
Binomial name
Deroceras praecox Wiktor, 1966

Taxonomy

When Wiktor (1966) described D. praecox he distinguished two forms on the basis of their genitalia. Later Wiktor (1973) realised that one of the forms of D. praecox that he had distinguished was synonymous with Deroceras rodnae, described slightly earlier by Grossu & Lupu (1965). But the other form with a spiral end to its penis occupied a distinct range in the Sudeten mountains and neighboring areas; this is what is called D. praecox nowadays. It remains debatable whether D. praecox might be better viewed as a subspecies of D. rodnae (Hutchinson & Reise, 2009). Note that the distinct differences in mating behaviour between D. praecox and D. rodnae that Reise (1995) reported turn out to refer to differences between D. praecox and a more distant species, Deroceras juranum (Hutchinson & Reise, 2009).

Description

Another view of Deroceras praecox

The coloration of the body of this slug is usually snowy white or off-white mottled with grey (Wiktor, 2000). The head and tentacles are brownish. However, colour is often a misleading guide and identification should be based on dissection. Even within a site D. praecox may co-occur with other species that are indistinguishable externally (Reise & Hutchinson, 2001). Deroceras praecox is distinct in having a spiral pocket at the end of its penis .

Distribution

This species occurs in Eastern Europe. It is not listed in the IUCN red list - and thus is not evaluated (NE)

It occurs in:

• Czech Republic - near threatened (NT)
• Poland
• Slovakia

A closely related form of uncertain taxonomic status occurs in the uplands south of Dresden, Germany (Hutchinson & Reise, 2009).

This slug occurs in woodland.

References

• Grossu, A.; Lupu, D. (1965). "Espèces nouvelles du genre Deroceras (Gastropoda, Limacidae) en Roumainie". Travaux du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle "Grigore Antipa". 5: 25–31.
• Hutchinson, J.M.C.; Reise, H. (2009). "Mating behaviour clarifies the taxonomy of slug species defined by genital anatomy: the Deroceras rodnae complex in the Sächsische Schweiz and elsewhere". Mollusca. 27: 183–200.
• Reise, H. (1995). "Mating behaviour of Deroceras rodnae Grossu & Lupu, 1965 and D. praecox Wiktor, 1996 (Pulmonata: Agriolimacidae)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 61 (3): 325–330. doi:10.1093/mollus/61.3.325.
• Reise, H.; Hutchinson, J.M.C. (2001). "Morphological variation in terrestrial slug Deroceras turcicum (Simroth, 1894), and a northern extension of its range in Central Europe". Folia Malacologica. 9 (2): 63–71. doi:10.12657/folmal.009.009.
• Wiktor, A. (1966). "Eine neue Nacktschnecken-Art (Gastropoda, Limacidae) aus Polen". Annales Zoologici. 23: 449–457.
• Wiktor, A. (1973). Die Nacktschnecken Polens. Arionidae, Milacidae, Limacidae (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora). Monografi e Fauny Polski 1. Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences.
• Wiktor, A. (2000). "Agriomilacidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) — a systematic monograph". Annales Zoologici. 49: 347–590.