Call to report sightings of sharp-toothed 'ghost slug' spotted in Stroud

A rare ghost slug has been found by homeowners in Gloucestershire.

The non-native mollusc was first discovered in South Wales in 2008 - followed by two specimens in Crimea, Ukraine.

It was reported to the Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Record (GCER) by people living in Stroud.

Museums Wales named the species Selenochlamys ysbryda, based on the Welsh word ysbryd, meaning a ghost or spirit.

Selenochlamys combines the Greek words for a cloak, and Selene, goddess of the moon.

The common name "ghost slug" soon became popular.

It is extremely elusive, living up to a metre deep in soil, only rarely visiting the surface.

The species is blind, but has longer and sharper teeth than those of herbivorous species.

Ghost slugs seldom live in large numbers. This makes it an unusually difficult slug to look for, especially in other people’s gardens or places that cannot be dug up.

Identifying a true ghost slug can be done by looking at the mantle and the eyes.

The mantle (indicated by the grey lines) looks like a layer of skin through which the breathing hole is often visible.

Other white or pale slug species have a large, cloak-like mantle over their “shoulders” near the front of their body. They have black eye spots at the tips of two of their tentacles.

Anyone who sees a ghost slug is asked to record it including a photo, location, grid reference and the date seen to GCER@gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk.