page_title: Spanish slug
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Spanish slug / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of reproductive system of Arion vulgaris. Locality: UK, England, South Devon, Exhibition Road, East Town, Crediton (according to the table S1.) ov - oviduct; ep - epiphallus; bc - bursa copulatrix; at - atrium.
context_page_description: The Spanish slug, also known by its scientific name Arion vulgaris, more commonly known in English-speaking countries under the incorrectly applied Latin name Arion lusitanicus, is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.
  They can lay up to 400 eggs in a single summer. These eggs often hatch within just 3.5-5 weeks.
  This is a highly invasive slug species. It is often considered a pest, not only in areas where it has been accidentally introduced, but even in places where it is indigenous.
context_section_description: The size of the adult slug is 80–120 mm. The colour of the Spanish slug is brownish or reddish brown, or brightly orange. The tentacles are darker. Colouration varies, but not within the same population. Adults differ little from Arion rufus, in contrast to the brightly coloured and banded juveniles that allow reliable determination of this species.
  Reproductive system: The atrium is small. The oviduct is large and swollen, with the same diameter as atrium. The spermatheca is spherical, its diameter twice of oviduct. The long, anteriorly swollen oviductus with large longitudinal ligula inside is distinctive of Arion vulgaris.
  When disturbed, the slugs will emit copious amounts of mucus. When killed in boiling water (one of several methods used in the fight against the species as an invasive organism), the mucus will colour the water yellow.
caption: Reproductive system of Arion vulgaris is important for species identification.
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