Land gastropods with no shell, or only a tiny internal one. “Slug” isn’t one group: losing the shell evolved many separate times, so different slugs aren’t closely related to each other.
Quick answers
What is it?Mollusc
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Many are most active at night or after rain, when the ground is damp.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
At a glance
Found inWorldwide
HabitatForest, Farmland, Towns, Grassland
ColoursBrown, Black, Orange
SizeTiny
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives alone
Lives for1–6 years
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Worldwide.
- What it eats
- Plants, including garden flowers, fruit and vegetables; some eat fungi and slime moulds.
Did you know
Essentially a snail that lost its shell, which has happened many separate times.
Without a shell, a slug can squeeze under bark and stones where a snail can’t go.
Often confused with
- Snail
A snail has a coiled shell big enough to pull into. A slug has no shell, or only a tiny one.
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