Common Name: Tropical Leatherleaf Slug
Scientific Name: Laevicaulis alte
Family: Veronicellidae
Nepali Name:
Size: 7-8 cm
Location: Surkhet, Nepal

The Tropical Leatherleaf Slug is a dark, leathery-textured, elongated slug that grows up to 7-8 cm long. It has round, tuberculated skin with a beige central keel and a pale line down its grayish body. Its eggs are oval, translucent, and about 6 mm in size. Its presence can be identified by mucus and slime trails or ribbon-like feces.

The Tropical Leatherleaf Slug is an invasive species in Nepal. It causes significant agricultural damage by feeding on crops and can disrupt local ecosystems by outcompeting native species.

This slug also carries several nematode parasites, including Angiostrongylus cantonensis (rat lungworm). Angiostrongylus cantonensis can cause meningitis-like symptoms in humans and is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis, which is primarily contracted through ingestion of infected gastropods.

Please feel free to comment below if the above species has been misidentified.

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