truthseqr's Journal

The genus Ariolimax is currently broken into 5 taxa in 2 subgenera based on penis morphology:

1. A. columbianus - ranges from central California to southeast Alaska (spotted?)
   There are 2 clades within A. columbianus, for which scientists propose species rank:
   A. columbianus - ranging from northwest California to southeast Alaska
   A. buttoni - in north-central California

2. A. californicus - found mainly in San Mateo county
3. A. dolichophallus - found mainly in Santa Cruz county

4. A. brachyphallus has a disjunct distribution on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, and Cambria in San Luis Obispo County.
   See this discussion: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/43841441

5. A. stramineus - found on the coast of south-central California
   A fourth distinct clade is an undescribed species on Mount Palomar, San Diego County, California.

References:

• A comprehensive treatise by Thomas Everett:
  https://www.inaturalist.org/posts/32164-a-note-on-banana-slugs

• Banana slug clades and proposed taxonomy. PEARSE, J.S.**; LEONARD, J.L.; BREUGELMANS, K.; BACKELJAU, T. http://www.sicb.org/meetings/2007/schedule/abstractdetails.php3?id=233
• https://baynature.org/article/not-just-a-pretty-face-the-banana-slug-is-one-of-the-weirdest-animals-on-earth/
• https://baynature.org/article/bizarre-banana-slug/
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/23338689
• https://www.inaturalist.org/flags/461110
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/2904700

• Roth & Sadeghian (2006) and Pearse & Leonard (2010).
  https://compbio.soe.ucsc.edu/slugGenome/jointGenomicsClass-23Apr2010.pdf (p. 27 and 51)

• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260106779_Checklist_of_the_Land_Snails_and_Slugs_of_California_Second_Edition
• http://www.sicb.org/meetings/2007/schedule/abstractdetails.php3?id=233

As we head into the last month of the Pacific newt migration season, I'd like to send out our thanks and deepest gratitude to the Newt Roadkill Survey Team (@merav, @sea-kangaroo, @newtpatrol, @anudibranchmom, @joescience1) for their work at Lexington Reservoir during the 2019-2020 migration season.

The last month is possibly the most difficult. Volunteers are exhausted both mentally & physically from taking pictures of thousands upon thousands of dead creatures on the road. Just when they think the carnage might be over, it rains and more newts brave the road only to have the life snuffed out of them. It weighs you down. It's difficult and dangerous work. Not many people appreciate their efforts.

Team, please know that I and the mitigation team (UC Davis Road Ecology Center, CA Fish & Wildlife, USGS Ecology, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Peninsula Open Space Trust and others) truly appreciate the work you've done.

So far, this study has documented 10,117 dead newts plus 180 roadkill observations of 33 other species over two and a half migration seasons.

Fraser Shilling, Ph.D., director of the UC Davis Road Ecology Center at UC Davis recently said, "I don't think there has been a study anywhere in the world that has found a higher density of amphibian mortality from traffic than this one."

You all have contributed to a landmark study. Thank you for your time and effort.