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Sticker of Iridescent semi-slug
Bug card No. 2369 of 4,939

Iridescent semi-slug

Ubiquitarion iridis
Eats: PlantsSnails, slugs and wormsRainforests and junglesNo legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The iridescent semi-slug is a snail that lives up in the trees in Australia. It is called a semi-slug because it looks half like a slug and half like a snail, with a shell too small to hide in. It likes damp rainforests.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect at all, it has no legs! But kids find it on every bug hunt, so it lives in Bug Wiki too.
Lives in
Eastern Australia, in and near rainforests
Top speed
about 0.02 km/h (0.01 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Wash your hands after holding one, like after touching any wild animal.
What does it eat?
Like most of its relatives, it nibbles on plants.
For real!Photo of Iridescent semi-slug
Picture by Poyt448, Peter Woodard. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It climbs trees and spends its life among the leaves and branches.

2

It is the only species in its genus, so it has no close sisters.

3

It got carried by accident to Sydney, where it now lives too.

you asked

Most asked questions about Iridescent semi-slug

?Where does the iridescent semi-slug live?

In north-eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland in Australia, in and near rainforests.

?What is a semi-slug?

A snail with a small shell that it cannot fully hide inside, so it looks partly like a slug.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Ubiquitarion iridis
Named by
Hyman, 2007
Group
Snails, slugs and worms
Family
Helicarionidae
Classification
Gastropoda > Stylommatophora > Helicarionidae
Lives on
Australia and Oceania

Where the facts come from

  1. Ubiquitarion (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Poyt448, Peter Woodard. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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