slug (redirected from slugs)

slug, name for a terrestrial gastropod mollusk in which the characteristic molluscan shell is reduced to a thin plate embedded in the tissues. Like the terrestrial snails of the same order, slugs have a distinct head with a mouth, tentacles bearing eyes, and a lung for breathing air. They move on a muscular foot over a trail of slime which they secrete. Certain species, such as Limax maximus, have become serious pests in gardens and truck farms, particularly in the W United States. Gliding out to feed at night, they devour both the roots and aerial portions of plants with their rasplike radula. Terrestrial slugs are classified in the phylum Mollusca, class Gastropoda, order Stylommatophora.

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slug

Any species of gastropod that glides along on a broad tapered foot and has no shell or one that is merely an internal plate or a series of granules. Most slugs use the mantle cavity (see mollusk) as a lung. Slugs have a soft, slimy body and live in moist habitats on land (except for one freshwater species). All are hermaphroditic. In temperate regions, the common slugs eat fungi and decaying leaves. Some tropical species eat plants, and some European species eat other snails and earthworms. See also nudibranch.

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A metal bar containing the carved image of a letter or digit that is used in a printing mechanism.