On our vacation to Puerto Rico this past February, we had the pleasure of hiking up to the cloud forest in the El Yunque National Forest. We came across this cute little guy about halfway through our climb.
I love seeing new critters and looking them up when I get home. Especially when they are as cool as this one. While it isn’t found in the continental U.S., I still wanted to share it with you.
This is Gaeotis flavolineata, the Puerto Rican Semi-slug. It is an arboreal mollusk that is endemic to Puerto Rico. You might not be able to tell from the photo, but this little guy is translucent.
This semi-slug has a very vestigial shell (tiny shell) that is covered by a piece of its mantle. It isn’t able to retract into the shell like a snail would.
It is largely nocturnal, but we saw this one on a late afternoon. They feed on leaves and animal waste and can eat up to half their weight in one day.
Here is a video someone took in the El Yunque forest a few years ago. Look at him go!
There are so many fascinating things in this world.
