Diplosolenodes occidentalis 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 mollusk in the family Veronicellidae

Veronicellidae

The Veronicellidae, common name the leatherleaf slugs, are a terrestrial family of pulmonate slugs.This family has no subfamilies ....

, the leatherleaf slugs.

Distribution

Diplosolenodes occidentalis was originally discovered and described by Lansdown Guilding

Lansdown Guilding

The Reverend Lansdown Guilding was a theologian and early naturalist. He was born on 9 May 1797 in St Vincent and was the son of the Reverend John Guilding and his wife Sarah. He is best known for his works on the flora and fauna of St Vincent in particular and on the Caribbean in general...

 from the West Indian island of Saint Vincent

Saint Vincent (island)

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...

. It seems likely that this species is native to most of the Lesser Antilles.

The distribution of Diplosolenodes occidentalis includes the Lesser Antilles

Lesser Antilles

The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...

:

• Dominica - first record in 1884, then in 1892

It has been introduced to the Greater Antilles

Greater Antilles

The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...

, Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

:

• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica
• In El Hatillo Miranda state - Venezuela

It occurs in greenhouses in Logan County, Oklahoma

Logan County, Oklahoma

Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2009 was 39,301. Its county seat is Guthrie. Logan County is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

.

This species has not yet become established in the wild in the USA, but it is considered to represent a potentially serious threat as a pest, an invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 which could negatively effect agriculture, natural ecosystems, human health or commerce. Therefore it has been suggested that this species be given top national quarantine

Quarantine

Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 significance in the USA.

Description

This slug is most easily recognized by the black speckling on its 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...

 or hyponota. The body length can reach up to 60 mm.

Ecology

This species may be found in undisturbed environments as well as in agricultural settings, where it may be regarded as a minor pest.

Further reading

• Baker H. B. (1925). "North American Veronicellidae". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 77: 157-184, Pl. 3-6. JSTOR
• Coto A. T. D. (1983). "Combate de la babosa Diplosolenodes occidentale (Guilding) (Soleolifera: Veronicellidae) con extractos de plantas". Tesis, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose. 53 pp.
• Thomé J. W. (1989). "Annotated and illustrated preliminary list of the Veronicellidae (Mollusca[ Gastropoda) of The Antilles, and Central and North America". J.Med. & Appl. Malacol. 1: 11-28.
• Thomé J. W. (1993). "Estado atual da sistemática dos veronicellidae (Mollusca; Gastropoda) americanos, con comentários sobre sua importáncia económica, ambiental e na saúde". Biociéncias, Porto Alegre 1(1): 61-75.
• Thomé J. W., dos Santos P. H. & Pedott L. (1997). "Annotated list of Veronicellidae from the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., U.S.A. (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Soleolifera)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 110: 520-536, figs 1-16. page 522.
• JULIETA FERNANDEZ DE V. (1982). "CONTRIBUCION AL CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS BABOSAS Y SIETECUEROS (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA) QUE CAUSAN DAÑOS A LA AGRICULTURA EN VENEZUELA". Rev. Fac. Agron. (Maracay), XII(3-4). 353-386. http://avepagro.org.ve/fagro/v12_34/v124m010.html - listed as Latipes pterocaulis in Venezuela.