9/17/2023 0 Comments Random fun facts about slugs![]() ![]() By studying the versatile, unique properties of slug slime, scientists have produced several new medical glues, including an adhesive that can bond to bloody, moving tissue-a struggle for traditional, medical-grade adhesives. When the mucin chain comes into contact with water, it expands to more than a hundred times its original size, creating a sticky mucus. To make slime, gastropods produce special tiny grains, called mucins, which link together. Often, to neutralize the mucus, predators will roll banana slugs in soil before eating them. When ingested, the slime can make attackers’ tongues go numb. The trail of slime can often imperil or slow down attackers such as Pacific giant salamanders and northwestern garter snakes-common banana slug predators. ![]() The creatures move by expanding and contracting their single foot, and the slime provides a slippery surface to glide over. The slime also helps banana slugs move-and simultaneously keep predators away. In dry conditions, slugs insulate themselves in dirt and leaves until their environment becomes moist again, typically venturing out to eat at night. While snails have shells to help protect their skin from drying out, slugs must find other ways to retain their moisture. To avoid dehydration, gastropods secrete a layer of mucus, or slime, which covers their bodies. Like all gastropods (slugs and snails) whose bodies are made of mostly water, banana slugs must stay moist to stay alive. The banana slug has a single lung, which has an external breathing pore, and it eats with its radula, a tongue-like body part that’s covered in rows of microscopic teeth. If a banana slug loses a tentacle to a predator or accident, it’s able to grow back. A pair of smaller, lower tentacles, protruding straight out in front of their “face” are able to feel and smell. Tiny black dots, or “eyes,” at the ends of the tentacles detect light and movement. A pair of upper tentacles, protruding from the top of their heads, are optical. Like all slugs, banana slugs use four tentacles to sense their environment. The banana slug is often bright yellow, though it can be brown, white, and green. One subspecies, the Pacific banana slug, can grow up to 9 inches long, making it the second-largest slug in the world. The slug is native to the dense, moist forest floors of the Pacific Northwest, ranging from Central California to Alaska. The gastropod has one lung, one foot, and no spine. It’s one of the slowest creatures on Earth, moving at a maximum speed of six and a half inches per minute. The banana slug is named for its resemblance to a ripe (or overripe, in the case of spotted individuals) banana. ![]() Least Concern Extinct What is the banana slug? ![]()
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