Large Black Slug (Arion ater)

OTHER NAMES: Black Slug, European Black Slug
Latin Etymology: Arion ("slug/snail") ater ("blackened by fire")

Adult Large Black Slug (Arion ater) at Geddington, Northants - May 2017

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 10-15cm
UK STATUS NOT EVALUATED / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The largest of the common species of slugs found in the UK, it is exactly what it says on the tin - a large black species of slug.  They emerge after rain to feed, where they are fairly omnivorous, eating plants, detritus and even other organisms.  They are a favoured food of a number of charismatic species including badgers, hedgehogs and thrushes.

Related Species:
Order: ?
Family: Arionidae
Genus: Arion
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A very common resident.

 - Seen at many locations

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Strawberry Snail (Trochulus striolatus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Trochulus (?) striolatus ("striated")

Adult Strawberry Snail (Trochulus striolatus) at Hay on Wye, Wales - April 2016

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Width: 11-15mm
NO UK STATUS /  IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

Compared to the most familiar snails of the UK, the Strawberry snail is unusually flattened in form and a good deal smaller.  It's apparently found almost entirely across the UK, but I can only recall finding it once - a little outside Haye on Wye, and this situation would apparently fit with it's typical movement time in daylight - in a damp location after rains - in this case a damp Welsh Valley.

Related Species:
Order: Helicoidea
Family: Hygromiidae
Genus: Trocholus
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Widespread, but not as frequently seen as more common species.

 - Seen at Haye on Wye in 2016 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis)

OTHER NAMES: Grove Snail
Latin Etymology: Cepaea ("of the garden") nemoralis ("of the woods")

Adult Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) at Geddington, Northants - May 2029

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Width: 18-25mm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Similar to it's close relation the White-lipped snail in many ways, the Brown-lipped snail can indeed be differentiated by the colour of the band around the opening of it's shell, here seem to be brown, although even this is no entirely reliable.  The colour variety seen in the picture is a more woodland adapted varient due to it's brown colouration, but comes in a wide variety of forms from yellow to the classic yellow and black spirals.  Unlike the White-lipped, this species has established itself in the Americas.

Related Species:
Order: Helicoidea
Family: Helicidae
Genus: Cepaea
SUBSPECIES: ? 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A common and often abundant resident.

 - Seen in many locations.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

OTHER NAMES: Garden Banded Snail
Latin Etymology: Cepaea ("of the garden") hortensis ("of the garden")

Adult White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - June 2011

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Width: 2.5cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

One of the other most common snails, and in my opinion the most beautiful found in the UK.  It and it's close relation the brown-lipped snail are both highly variable in shell pattern, with it being a noted example of habitat based natural selection, with the entirely bright yellow snails being more common in open grassland while the darker and more banded specimens find more success in woodland where their shells act as better camoflage.

Related Species:
Order: Helicoidea
Family: Helicidae
Genus: Cepaea
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A common resident.

 - Seen at numerous sites.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica)

OTHER NAMES: Giant African Snail
Latin Etymology: Achatina ("agate") fulica ("coot")

Adult Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica) at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - July 2016

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 20cm
NOT PRESENT IN UK / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 


One of the largest of all terrestrial snails, the Giant African Land Snail originated in Kenya and Tanzania, but has become established around the tropics due to human involvements.  They have various negative reprecussions although arguably human attempts to control them are even more catastropic - releasing wolfsnails onto Tahiti to control this species instead resulted in the extinction of around 50 indigenous snail species.

Related Species:
Order: Achatinoidea
Family: Achatinidae
Genus: Achatina
SUBSPECIES: A. f. hamillei, A. f. rodatzi, A. f. sinistrosa, A. f. umbilicata

 - Sighting Locations -

MALAYSIA - Malay - ?

An introduced species, now fairly common.

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: One in Kuala Lumpur

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Common Limpet (Patella vulgata)

OTHER NAMES: Limpet, Common European Limpet
Latin Etymology: Patella ("Shallow Dish") vulgata ("Common")

Four Adult Common Limpet (Patella vulgata) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - August 2019

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 3cm
UK STATUS NOT EVALUATED / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

The Common Limpet is one of the most familiar of marine mollusc found around the coast of the UK - a tough conical shell that clings to the surface of rocks during low tide, and goes on grazing algae.  A feature of note are their teeth - they are the hardest known natural material known, comparable to strong commercial carbon fibre - these are used to scrape algae directly from the rock.

Related Species:
Order: N/A
Family: Patellidae
Genus: Patella
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Common resident of rocky coasts

 - Seen at Trevose Head and other coastal sites

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Leopard Slug (Limax maximus)

OTHER NAMES: Great Grey Slug 
Latin Etymology: Limax ("slug") maximus ("biggest")

Adult Leopard Slug (Limax maximus) at Weekly Hall Woods - July 2020

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 10-20cm 
UK STATUS NOT EVALUATED/ IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

By the standards of UK terrestrial slugs, the leopard slug certainly stands out - growing up to 20cm long and with a very variable but always distinctive leopard print pattern it's almost certainly one of the most charismatic species of slugs in the country.  Added to that is their elaborate mating ritual, where a pair of leopard slugs will ascend a tree, intetwine with each other then descend of a rope of mucus and then extrude their reproductive organs, which also intertwine.

Related Species:
Order: ?
Family: Limacidae
Genus: Limax
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A widespread resident

 - Seen at Weekly Hall Woods (July 2020), .

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus)

OTHER NAMES: Dogwhelk, Atlantic Dogwinkle
Latin Etymology: Nucella ("small nut") lapillus ("small stone")

Adult Dog Whelk (Nucella lapillus) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - May 2016

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: 4cm
IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

The Dog Whelk is a small predatory snail that feeds upon other molluscs.  It lives in rocky habitats where it moves over the surface of the rocks looking to feed on other mollusc species.  It possesses a complex system of feeding organs designed to allow it to drill through shells and absorb the contents, including the use of enzymes designed to soften the shells.  It is very variable in colour, and while yellow is frequent in the places I've visited it can come in orange, brown, black, green blue or pink.

Related Species:
ORDER: ?
FAMILY: Muricidae
GENUS: Nucella
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Locally common resident.

 - Fairly common at Trevose Head, 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis)

OTHER NAMES: Blue Mussel 
Latin Etymology: Mytilus ("sea mussel") edulis ("edible")

A colony of Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - May 2016

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: 1.4-6.5g  /  Length: 5-10cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

One of the most common of British shellfish, the Common Mussel can be found in abundance in suitable habitat on rocky shorelines.  They have a very high quantity to low yield reproductive system relying on both sperm and eggs being released into the sea, and to rely on luck to interact through sheer numbers.  A low proportion of the eggs get fertilised, and these go on to form larvae, but even only 1% of these go on to reach adult form.  As they finally reach that form, they permanently bond to a single patch of rocks to act as filter feeders.

Related Species:
ORDER: Ostreoida
FAMILY: Mytilidae
GENUS: Mytilus
SUBSPECIES: ?

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Locally abundant resident.

 - Abundant at Trevose Head, 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .