CreatureData

Spanish slug

Arion vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855

LCLeast Concernsnails and slugs

The spanish slug (Arion vulgaris) is a mollusc in the snails and slugs subgroup, belonging to the family Arionidae and the genus Arion. It is classified in the phylum Mollusca, class Gastropoda and superfamily Arionoidea, and was named by Moquin-Tandon, 1855.

Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Photo: Xauxa Håkan Svensson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spanish slug

Other English names for this species are Vulgar slug and Lusitanian slug. On the IUCN Red List, the spanish slug is assessed globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the spanish slug

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Tomasz Matraj · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Sonnenstar · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
5snake5 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Sonnenstar · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Karlprof · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
Iscream icecream · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)
No machine-readable author provided · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the spanish slug live?

Not recorded

What is the spanish slug?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris, but formerly widely referred to as Arion lusitanicus owing to a misidentification) is an air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs.

Other vernacular names are Lusitanian slug, Iberian slug, and killer slug.

It is a large, conspicuous slug, which has spread across much of Europe since the 1950s and now reached North America. It may attain high densities and can be a serious horticultural and agricultural problem, and is considered an invasive species. The life cycle is annual, with adults appearing in summer and dying off before winter.

From the Wikipedia article “Spanish slug” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_slug&oldid=1371467347), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the spanish slug sound like?

Ianactually · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Medvedev · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Medvedev · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Lümmel 1 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the spanish slug endangered?

The spanish slug is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the spanish slug classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumMollusca
  3. classGastropoda
  4. familyArionidae
  5. genusArion
  6. SpeciesArion vulgaris Moquin-Tandon, 1855

Synonyms Arion ater var. limbata, Arion lusitanicus, Arion rufus var. vulgaris, Arion rufus vulgaris, Arion vulgaris

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Lusitanian slugEnglish
  • Vulgar slugEnglish
  • plzák španělskýCzech
  • DræbersneglDanish
  • Iberisk skovsneglDanish
  • KapuzinerschneckeGerman
  • Lusitanische WegschneckeGerman
  • Spanische WegschneckeGerman
  • Ισπανικός γυμνοσάλιαγκαςGreek
  • Babosa europeaSpanish
  • Hispaania teetiguEstonian
  • espanjansiruetanaFinnish
  • Loche communeFrench
  • Loche méridionaleFrench
  • Španjolski pužCroatian
  • Španjolski prpoljCroatian
  • Spanyol csupaszcsigaHungarian
  • Limaccia RossaItalian
  • Ispaninis arionasLithuanian
  • Spānijas kailgliemezisLatvian
  • brunskogsneglNorwegian Bokmål
  • brunskogsnigelNorwegian Bokmål
  • iberiaskogsneglNorwegian Bokmål
  • Spaanse wegslakDutch
  • iberiaskogsnigelNorwegian Nynorsk
  • ślinik pospolityPolish
  • Limax spaniolRomanian
  • Моложень испанскийRussian
  • Испанский слизеньRussian
  • slizovec iberskýSlovak
  • španski lazarSlovenian
  • mördarsnigelSwedish
  • spansk skogssnigelSwedish
  • Маслюк іспанськийUkrainian
  • Слимак іспанськийUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spanish slug

Other species in the same genus Arion.

Glade slug

Arion intermedius

ArionidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSpanish slug vs Black slugSpanish slug vs Dusky arionSpanish slug vs Garden slugSpanish slug vs Glade slug

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the spanish slug?

The spanish slug is a mollusc in the snails and slugs subgroup. It belongs to the class Gastropoda and the family Arionidae.

What is the scientific name of the spanish slug?

The scientific name of the spanish slug is Arion vulgaris, placed in the genus Arion.

Who named Arion vulgaris and when?

Arion vulgaris was named by Moquin-Tandon, 1855.

Is the spanish slug endangered?

No. The spanish slug is assessed globally as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

What other names does the spanish slug have?

The spanish slug is also called the Vulgar slug and the Lusitanian slug.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spanish-slug

MLA

“Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spanish-slug.

BibTeX
@misc{spanish_slug_2026,
  title = {Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spanish-slug},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}