Limax maximus (literally, "biggest slug"), known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs.Marshall, B. (2014). Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=819992 on 2014-11-06 It is among the largest keeled slugs, Limax cinereoniger being the largest. Limax maximus is the type species of the genus Limax. The adult slug measures 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in length and is generally a light greyish or grey-brown with darker spots and blotches, although the coloration and exact patterning of the body of this slug species is quite variable. This species has a very unusual and distinctive mating method, where the pair of slugs use a thick thread of mucus to hang suspended in the air from a tree branch or other structure. Although native to Europe, this species has been accidentally introduced to many other parts of the world.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Limax maximus has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens64
BINs1
Marker genes2
eDNA detections3
Countries10
The DNA barcodethe species' typical barcode, built from every sequenced specimen
COI-5P617 bp consensus48 specimens
ACGT
▸ drag or hover over the strip to read any position — letter and how much it varies
Violet ticks below the strip = positions where individuals differ; flat = the species' unchanging signature. 93% of positions are identical in every specimen.
Where individuals differ — all 41 variable positions, in barcode order
Each circle is a barcode variant; bigger = more specimens, colour = region. Lines join the most similar variants and the tick marks count the mutations between them — a tight cluster is one “dialect”, a long line a more divergent lineage. Click a circle to list its actual specimens.
Diversity (π)2.7%
Haplotypes3
BIN1
Most divergent pair0.65%
EuropeOther
Closest relatives by DNA barcode
The species whose COI barcode is most similar to this one — a quick “who is this most like”. The percentage is how much the barcode differs; it approximates, but is not, the full evolutionary tree.
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★COI-5P16S
animal barcoderibosomal
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type96 678 records
Wild obs. + sensor94 539
Museum / vouchered2 113
Cultivated / captive3
Fossil2
Other21
Origin
Native1 170
Introduced12
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO163 724 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy66% within 1 km
≤100 m 42 367≤1 km 10 530≤10 km 23 718>10 km 3 923
80 538 georeferenced · 14 001 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor94 539
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy36% within 1 km
≤100 m 305≤1 km 86≤10 km 642>10 km 48
1 081 georeferenced · 1 032 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence2 113
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy0% within 1 km
≤10 km 3
3 georeferenced
Open the mapnot free-living3
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions32 of 69 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Gothenburg, SE
412
Paro, BT
141
Bern, CH
125
Wellington, NZ
119
Museums Victorialocation not on record
113
Dhaka, BD
98
Sydney, AU
66
QVMAGlocation not on record
64
Philadelphia, US
55
NTNU-VMlocation not on record
52
SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record
42
Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record
40
Cambridge, US
38
Barcelona, ES
28
Helsinki, FI
28
North Carolina Museum of Natural Scienceslocation not on record
24
Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record
22
Chicago, US
21
DOI/NPS, Salem Maritime National Historic Sitelocation not on record
21
Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallerylocation not on record
20
New Haven, US
20
Washington, US
18
Victoria, CA
16
Chongqing Museumlocation not on record
14
Provincia di Livornolocation not on record
13
SNSDlocation not on record
13
BioFokuslocation not on record
12
Tromsø, NO
12
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
12
Natick, US
12
Universität Zürich, Naturhistorisches Museumlocation not on record
10
Salzburg, AT
10
Saint John, CA
10
Frankfurt am Main
10
MZLUlocation not on record
6
Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record
6
NNMLlocation not on record
6
Chicago, US
5
CASlocation not on record
5
Geneva, CH
5
South Kensington, GB
4
Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record
4
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record
4
Los Angeles, US
4
Paris, FR
3
Universite Paris-Est Creteillocation not on record
3
Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii Polskiej Akademii Nauklocation not on record
3
Edmonton, CA
2
EVMGlocation not on record
2
DASSHlocation not on record
2
Buenos Aires, AR
2
Delaware Museum of Nature and Sciencelocation not on record
2
Toronto, CA
2
Natural History Museum, Londonlocation not on record
2
Western Australian Museumlocation not on record
2
CBDClocation not on record
1
Tartu, EE
1
Champaign, US
1
Natural History Museum, Rangoonlocation not on record
1
Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record
1
Stockholm, SE
1
PUC-RSlocation not on record
1
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Scienceslocation not on record
1
Citadel Hill, GB
1
Royal Ontario Museumlocation not on record
1
ZSMlocation not on record
1
Senckenberg Museum fuer Naturkunde Goerlitzlocation not on record
1
Denver, US
1
University of Guelph, Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record
1
69 institutions · 1 799 of 2 113 vouchered records shown · 314 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA3 detections
Where the DNA of Limax maximus was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found3
Studies independent surveys1
Countries1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 3 detections have coordinates
Open the map1 country0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
Modelled climatemodelled
−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C
Temperature median14.3 °C 12.1–14.3
Seasonal swing summer↔winter14.0 °C
Max temp (day)17.9 °C 15.1–17.9
Min temp (night)10.4 °C 9.00–10.4
Precipitation82.8 mm/mo 82.8–83.7
Air humidity61.0 % 61.0–63.7
Moisture balance4.20 mm/mo 4.20–5.60
Vapour deficit673 Pa 541–673
Wind speed2.10 m/s 2.10–3.80
Cloud cover41.0 % 41.0–43.1
CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 3 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation12 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility96 678 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI3 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics64 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗