Paua Slug - Schlizoglossa
Environmental News Issue 19 Winter 2009
Sven Stellin took this fine shot of a paua slug he found in his woodpile. The paua slug (Schlizoglossa) is endemic to New Zealand and found only in the upper half of the North Island.
Like other slugs and snails they prefer a damp, protected environment, foraging nocturnally when the humidity is high. The paua slug exhibits a small, vestigial, external paua-shaped shell, hence its name.
It is under pressure due to habitat destruction and introduced predators like the pig, rat, and blackbird which forage in its preferred habitat.