Leopard Slug
Limax maximus
4.1 cm (range 3.8 cm–4.5 cm)
Length of the everted organ at the early club-shaped stage, before the frill unrolls; from measured field sketches of pairs hanging from mucus threads (midpoint of 1½–1¾ in, 38.1–44.5 mm)
Relative champion
Leopard slugs mate hanging in mid-air from a thick rope of mucus, their milk-white penes twisted together beneath them.
Margin note: Their courtship calls for a rope, and the slugs have the good manners to bring their own.
Sources
- Adams L.E. (1898) Observations on the pairing of Limax maximus L. Journal of Conchology 9(3):92–95, Pl. III link
- Quick H.E. (1960) British slugs (Pulmonata; Testacellidae, Arionidae, Limacidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 6(3):103–226 link
Drawn from
- Adams 1898, Plate III (drawn by J. W. Taylor from Adams's measured sketches): Figs 1–4: everted organ as a club (fig. 1), with frill appearing (fig. 2), fully unrolled (fig. 3) and entwining (fig. 4); figs 5–9: knot and umbrella; fig. 9: whole pair hanging from the mucus thread