Home/Species/ Carolina Mantleslug

Philomycus carolinianus

(Bosc, 1802)

Carolina Mantleslug

G5Secure Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

MediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.115658

Element CodeIMGAS64010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumMollusca

ClassGastropoda

OrderStylommatophora

FamilyPhilomycidae

GenusPhilomycus

Other Common Names

Arion de Caroline (FR) Limace à manteau de la Caroline (FR)

Concept Reference

Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2025-09-19

Change Date2002-10-08

Edition Date2025-09-19

Edition AuthorsT. Cornelisse

Threat ImpactMedium

Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

This species has a large range, many occurrences, and although there are a few threats, they are thus far limited in scope.

Range Extent Comments

This species occurs in southern Ontario, Canada and in the eastern United States from Wisconsin to Maine, south to Florida and west to Texas (COSEWIC 2019; InvertEBase 2025; RARECAT 2025).

Occurrences Comments

This species is known from > 1200 occurrences using a 1 km separation distance and records from 1994-2025 (InvertEBase 2025; GBIF 2025; NatureServe 2025; RARECAT 2025).

Threat Impact Comments

This species is threatened by climate change due to increasing temperatures, droughts, and flooding, development and loss of habitat, and potentially by prescribed fire (COSEWIC 2019; Michigan Natural Features Inventory 2025).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in floodplain and upland forests under bark of large rotting hardwood logs (COSEWIC 2019).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - Hardwood

Palustrine Habitats

Riparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN1

Province	Rank	Native
Ontario	S1	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
New York	SNR	Yes
Kansas	SNR	Yes
West Virginia	SNR	Yes
Pennsylvania	SNR	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
Indiana	SNR	Yes
Michigan	S2	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
Oklahoma	SNR	Yes
Florida	SNR	Yes
Iowa	SNR	Yes
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
Mississippi	SNR	Yes
Illinois	SNR	Yes
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S5	Yes
Texas	SNR	Yes
Missouri	SNR	Yes
Kentucky	S4	Yes
Wisconsin	SU	Yes
Alabama	SNR	Yes
New Jersey	SNR	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
Tennessee	S5	Yes
Arkansas	SNR	Yes
South Carolina	SNR	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areas	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
7 - Natural system modifications	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppression	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather	Large (31-70%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11.2 - Droughts	Large (31-70%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11.3 - Temperature extremes	Large (31-70%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11.4 - Storms & flooding	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)

Roadless Areas (6)

Arkansas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Little Blakely	Ouachita National Forest	3,342

Georgia (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Mountain	Chattahoochee National Forest	1,974
Pink Knob	Chattahoochee National Forest	12,127

South Carolina (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Mountain	Sumter National Forest	2,337

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bald Mountain	Cherokee National Forest	11,743

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Little Lake Creek	National Forests in Texas	596

References (15)

Branson, B.A. 1973. Kentucky Land Mollusca: checklist, distribution and keys for identification. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. March 1973.
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). 2019. COSEWIC Assessment Results, April 2019. Online. Available: http://www.cosewic.ca/index.php/en-ca/assessment-process.
Dourson, D. and K. Feeman. 2006. A survey of terrestrial Mollusca in selected areas of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science, 67(1): 9-18.
Dourson, D.C. 2010. Kentucky's land snails and their ecological communities. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 298 pp.
Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp.
Dourson, D C. and West Virginia DNR. 2015. Land snails of West Virginia. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, North Carolina. 412 pp.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
Hotopp, K. and T.A. Pearce. 2007. Land snails in New York: statewide distribution and talus site faunas. Final Report for contract #NYHER 041129 submitted to New York State Biodiversity Research Institute, New York State Museum, Albany, New York. 91 pp.
InvertEBase. 2025. Online. Available: https://invertebase.org/portal/index.php.
Michigan Natural Features Inventory. 2025. Rare Species Explorer (Web Application). Available online at http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer
NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Orstan, A. 2007. Contact with an alien. Tentacle, 15: 14-15.
<p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
Waggoner, J., S.A. Clark, K.E. Perez, and C. Lydeard. 2006. A survey of terrestrial gastropods of the Sipsey Wilderness (Bankead National Forest), Alabama. Southheastern Naturalist, 5(1): 57-68.

Philomycus carolinianus

Habitat

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