Maharashtra, June 30: A new species of semi-slug has been discovered in the Western Ghats in a field study conducted by a group of researchers. The new species, named Varadia amboliensis, is glossy gray or greyish white, with irregular dark mottling and measures 6 cm in length.
Semi-slugs are land gastropods whose shells are too small for them to retract into, but not quite undeveloped. The shell of some semi-slugs may not be easily visible on casual inspection, because the shell may be covered by the mantle.
The newly discovered species is native to the northern and central Western Ghats and is primarily found in natural forests. It is most active at night and is known from only a handful of localities in Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka.
It feeds on leaf litter, insects, and other small creepy crawlies. Scientists find the species to be sensitive to even the slightest climatic fluctuations.
The genus name, Varadia, is named after the Indian herpetologist (someone who studies reptiles andamphibians) Mr. Varad Giri in honor of his work in Indian herpetology. The species name, amboliensis, refers to the Amboli area of Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.
Zoologist Amrut R. Bhosale of the Kolhapur-based Shivaji University, the main author of the study, along with Dinarzarde Raheem, a scientific associate of London’s Natural History Museum, and a group of international researchers conducted the field study. The study has been published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
