Monday, October 8, 2012

The Albino Returns

I've actually had this crop of photos for several days; I just haven't had a chance to post them. Here are the most recent photos of the albino slug (Lehmannia valentiana) that lives in our yard.
The mantle and cephalic area are bright white, while the rest of the body is more translucent. This is due to the compactness of the former area, containing many vital organs, and the thickness of mantle itself (since it protects these organs from above). However, you'll notice a large area further down the slug's body that is also bright white. I have compared this photo to an anatomical diagram of Limax maximus (none are available to me of Lehmannia spp.), as well as to a partial view of a dissected Lehmannia valentiana, but it is difficult to tell, especially since the coloring of internal organs differs between species. Moreover, while this slug lacks external pigment, it seems not to lack it internally. My best guess, based on its posterior location, is that this white area represents the digestive cecum. Also, there is an organ running diagonally between the mantle and the (presumed) digestive cecum. This could be part of the spermoviduct (the common male and female gonoduct, which connects the ovotestis and albumen gland to the gonopore, i.e. the pore through which the penis emerges and into which sperm is transferred during mating). Again, I can only conjecture.

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