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Hawaii Island Rat Lungworm Working Group Rat Lungworm IPM

Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy RLWL-4
University of Hawaii, Hilo

Taxonomy: Classification of slugs and snails

Standards addressed:
Next Generation Science

MS-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• MS-LS4-2: Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the

anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and
between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

Language Arts, Common Core Math

• Writing: Research to build and present knowledge

Learning objectives:
• Understand how taxonomy came into being and why.
• Understand the levels of the classification pyramid.
• Understand where slugs and snails are in the pyramid of classification.
• Learn the scientific and common name of common invasive gastropod
species found in the school garden area. This will be important for data
collection.

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Reading for Understanding:
Taxonomy: the science of how living things are grouped together, also
called classification.
Aristotle was a scientist from ancient Greece who lived from
384-322 BC. He was one of the first people to classify living
things, and he divided them into two group, or kingdoms;
plants and animals. He divided the animals into subgroups,
those that lived on land, in the water, or in the air, and he
divided plants into small, medium, and large subgroups. But
he ran into problems because some organisms didn’t fit well,
such as birds, bats, and insects, which could all fly, but otherwise were very
different.

In the 1700’s, another scientist named Carolus Linnaeus

developed a better system of classification that was not so
limited as Aristotle’s. Linnaeus divided kingdom, plant or
animal, into five levels; class, order, genus, species, and
variety. Linnaeus established the two-part system of
naming. The first part of the species name tells what
genus the species belongs to, and the second part names the species within the
genus. Linnaeus is known as the father of taxonomy and we use his system of
naming things.

Why are names important?

The taxonomic method of naming uses a scientific method to create a common
name for a species that is used globally. Because of the many languages spoken
around the world, and the common names created, having one name that can be
recognized globally is very important for scientists, and also helps those people
who like to study living things. Many of the non-native slugs and snails you will
meet in the garden will have a common name, such as the Cuban slug, the semi-
slug, or the giant African snail, but they will also have a scientific name. This
name has two parts; the first name tells the genus and the second name tells the
species. For instance, the Cuban slug’s scientific name is Veronicella cubensis.
Veronicella is a genus of an air-breathing land slug in the family Veronicellidae,

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and cubensis makes reference to the fact that this slug is endemic, or native, to
Cuba. The scientific name for the semi-slug is Parmarion martensi. This slug
belongs to the family Ariophantidae, and the genus Pamarion. All living organisms
that have been identified are given a scientific name, and sometimes they carry the
name of the person who first “discovered” them. Scientific names come from
Greek and Latin languages and the words can seem unfamiliar and many are real
tongue-twisters. Use phonetics to sound them out.

Pyramid of classification
Taxonomic classification starts with general characteristics and gets increasingly
more detail specific.

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

While originally there were only two kingdoms, plant and animal, there are now
six kingdoms recognized into which a living organism can be classified. The six
kingdoms, starting from the simplest organisms to the most complex, are:
• Archaebacteria (Extreme organisms that live in inhospitable places like
hot springs and hydrothermal vents).
• Eubacteria (true bacteria)

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 • Protista (some have characteristics of animals while others resemble plants
or fungi).
• Fungi (yeast and mushrooms).
• Plantae (plants)
• Animalia (animals)

This is a link to an educational site where you can learn more about the organisms
that comprise the six kingdoms.
http://www.ric.edu/faculty/ptiskus/six_kingdoms/

Classification of Slugs and snails

Kingdom: Animalia
Animals are classified into two principal groups; invertebrates (without
backbone) and vertebrates (with backbone). Invertebrates are the most abundant
organisms on earth. Slugs and snails are invertebrates in the animal kingdom.

Phylum: Mollusca
Slugs and snails are in the Mollusca phylum. The Mollusca phylum is the second
largest of all phyla (plural). Molluscs can be terrestrial (land-living) or aquatic
(water-living). Aquatic molluscs can be either marine or fresh water dwellers. They
have organs and a body wall which, in snails, is covered by a shell made from
calcium carbonate, which is the same thing cement is made from.

What are examples of mollusks?

• Octopus
• Squid
• Clams
• Scallops
• Oysters
• Sea slugs, sea snails
• Aquatic (freshwater) snails
• Terrestrial (land) slugs and snails

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As a comparison of the other organisms involved in our studies of rat lungworm
disease, the rat lungworm itself is in the Aschelminthes (Nematodae) phylum,
and the definitive host, the rat, is in the Chordata phylum.

Class: Gastropoda
The class gastropoda includes slugs and snails. The majority have a shell that the
animal can withdraw its body into and are called snails. Gastropods that lack a
shell are called slugs. The loss of the shell was an evolutionary change, which
provided slugs with the advantage of being better at maneuvering and squeezing
themselves to get through small crevices and into small spaces, such as under rocks
and logs. Some malacologists (people who studies slugs and snails) refer to all
gastropods, slugs included, as snails.

Family:
We have multiple families of non-native gastropods in Hawaii. The Cuban slug
and the leatherback slug are in the Veronicellidae family, and the semi-slug is in
the Ariophantidae family. Some gastropods are difficult to identify and we many
only be able to identify them to the family level.

Genus and species:

You will notice the scientific names have two parts, the first part is the genus name
and the two names together identify the organism to the species level. The names
that may seem unfamiliar. That is because the names are taken from the Latin
language, which was the language spoken many thousands of years ago when
Rome ruled much of Europe. You might also notice that scientific names are
written with slanted letters known as italics.

• Cornu aspersum, the European garden snail, is in Helicidae family.

• Achatina fulica, the giant African snail, is in Achatinidae family.

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 There are more than 40 different non-native and invasive slugs and snails that are
now living in Hawaii. The list grows as new invaders smuggle their way into the
state, often in plants being shipped to Hawaii. Some species can be found on all
islands, such as Achatina fulica the giant African snail, and some have been limited
to one or more islands but have not spread throughout the state, such as Parmarion
martensi the semi-slug, which was only found on Oahu and Hawaii Island until
very recently, when it was identified on the windward side of Maui. This slug is an
effective host of the rat lungworm parasite, and so it is very important for Kauai
residents to prevent this slug from arriving and establishing a population there.
Information on some of Hawai’i’s more common slug and snail pests can be found
at this website.
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/haraa/SLUGS_5_2014PressQ.pdf

Learning Activities
• Identify slug and snail species that have been found in the garden or at
home. What is the common name? What is the scientific name?
• Using the internet for research, find information on the species commonly
found in the garden or at home.
• Take a photograph of the slugs and snails commonly found in the garden or
at home and, with the information found, make an identification card for that
species which includes the common and scientific names.

This material is written by Kathleen Howe and produced by the Hawaii Island Rat Lungworm Working
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Group with funding from the Hawaii Invasive Species Council and support from the Daniel K. Inouye
College of Pharmacy. Photo credits of snails: The Jarvi lab.