IUCN Species of the Day: Burnup’s Hunter Slug

 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm)

Burnups Hunter Slug Photo Credit: Dai Hurbert

Photo credit: Dai Hurbert

 

Burnup’s Hunter Slug, Chlamydephorus burnupi, is listed as ‘VULNERABLE’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. This species of slug is endemic to South Africa, where it lives in the leaf-litter of mist-belt and montane Podocarpus forests, and is largely confined to the midlands and Drakensberg foothills in KwaZulu-Natal.

This species faces various challenges in terms of its conservation, given the public view that most slugs are ‘garden pests’. However, the reality is that this species has a limited range and, even within this, it is restricted to remnant pockets of suitable forest habitat. Such habitats are themselves threatened by fire, alien invasive plants, grazing and trampling by livestock, illegal harvesting of forest products and other habitat degrading processes. This slug is a predator of other invertebrates, including pill millipedes.

To date, there are no real conservation actions or interventions specifically related to Burnup’s Hunter Slug. Its conservation relies very heavily on preservation of its forest habitats in KwaZulu-Natal.

 

Geographic Region of the Burnup’s Hunter Slug

Credit: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

 

To learn more about Burnup’s Hunter Slug, click here. Or visit the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ by clicking their logo below.

To learn more about the Bush Warriors “Species of the Day” feature, please click here and read up on our initiative to raise awareness about the loss of earth’s biodiversity.

 

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