Home/Species/ Variable Mantleslug

Philomycus togatus

(Gould, 1841)

Variable Mantleslug

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Medium - lowThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.115174

Element CodeIMGAS64020

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

Toga Mantleslug (EN)

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 Date2004-10-01

Edition Date2025-09-19

Edition AuthorsT. Cornelisse

Threat ImpactMedium - low

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Despite some regional threats, this species has a large range and number of occurrences, and it has been documented across its range consistently in recent years.

Range Extent Comments

This species occurs in Ontario, Canada and in the eastern United States from Ohio to Massachusetts, south to Georgia and west to Louisiana (Hotopp and Pearce 2007; NatureServe 2025; RARECAT 2025; InvertEBase 2025).

Occurrences Comments

This species is known from at least approximately 524 occurrences using a 1 km separation distance and records from 1994-2025 (Hotopp and Pearce 2007; NatureServe 2025; RARECAT 2025; InvertEBase 2025).

Threat Impact Comments

This species is threatened by logging and non-native slug species in the genus Arion, at least in southern Canada (Mazaleyrat et al. 2023).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is an upland (up to 1200 m) species found on wooded hillsides and in ravines, under loose bark of logs; in wet weather it is found on trunks of smooth-barked trees at night (Dourson 2013).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - Hardwood

Other Nations (2)

CanadaNU

Province	Rank	Native
Ontario	SU	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Alabama	S1	Yes
North Carolina	S4	Yes
Virginia	S4	Yes
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
Pennsylvania	S4	Yes
Tennessee	S4	Yes
Mississippi	SNR	Yes
West Virginia	SNR	Yes
Maryland	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNR	Yes
Kentucky	S3	Yes
New York	SNR	Yes
Georgia	SNR	Yes
Connecticut	SNR	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
5 - Biological resource use	Large - restricted	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvesting	Large - restricted	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
8.1.2 - Named species	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)

Roadless Areas (3)

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Laurel Branch Addition	Cherokee National Forest	5,577

Virginia (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Brush Mountain East	Jefferson National Forest	4,916
Hunting Camp Little Wolf Creek	Jefferson National Forest	8,953

References (10)

Burke, T.E. 2013. Land snails and slugs of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 352 pp
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.
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.
Mazaleyrat, A., Le Borgne, H., Lorenzetti, F. and Dupuch, A., 2023. Do disturbance-induced habitat changes drive alien species invasion success and native species decline? A case study based on slug species inhabiting managed deciduous forests. Biological Invasions, 25(7), pp.2343-2359.
NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
<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.

Philomycus togatus

Habitat

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