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
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS1Yes
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
New YorkSNRYes
KansasSNRYes
West VirginiaSNRYes
PennsylvaniaSNRYes
VirginiaS4Yes
IndianaSNRYes
MichiganS2Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
IllinoisSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
TexasSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
KentuckyS4Yes
WisconsinSUYes
AlabamaSNRYes
New JerseySNRYes
MaineSNRYes
TennesseeS5Yes
ArkansasSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.2 - DroughtsLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.3 - Temperature extremesLarge (31-70%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.4 - Storms & floodingRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

Roadless Areas (6)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
Georgia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Big MountainChattahoochee National Forest1,974
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
South Carolina (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big MountainSumter National Forest2,337
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainCherokee National Forest11,743
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
References (15)
  1. Branson, B.A. 1973. Kentucky Land Mollusca: checklist, distribution and keys for identification. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. March 1973.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Dourson, D.C. 2010. Kentucky's land snails and their ecological communities. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 298 pp.
  5. Dourson, D.C. 2013. Land snails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and southern Appalachians. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, NC. 336 pp.
  6. Dourson, D C. and West Virginia DNR. 2015. Land snails of West Virginia. Goatslug Publications, Bakersville, North Carolina. 412 pp.
  7. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  8. 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.
  9. InvertEBase. 2025. Online. Available: https://invertebase.org/portal/index.php.
  10. Michigan Natural Features Inventory. 2025. Rare Species Explorer (Web Application). Available online at http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer
  11. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  12. Orstan, A. 2007. Contact with an alien. Tentacle, 15: 14-15.
  13. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  14. 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.
  15. 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.