Observations on reproduction and early development of the crimson foot semislug stanisicarion freycineti (Férussac, 1821)

Aspects of the reproduction and early development of the crimson foot semislug, Stanisicarion freycineti (Férussac, 1821), were investigated. Animals laid clutches of 15–28 sulcated eggs each from which juveniles hatched 21–31 days later. The mean egg length and width was 0.39 and 0.31 mm, respectively. Growth was linear for the first 25 days, with an increase of shell size of 0.04 mm d⁻¹ and an increase in body mass (whole animal wet weight) of 1.8 mg d⁻¹. When offered a choice of food items, S. freycineti preferred flesh (chopped parts of Cornu aspersum) over native grasses, a lichen or a fungus. Interestingly, the pedal mucus produced by the semislugs was yellow-orange on collection, which then turned clear, rather than the reported red. These observations add to the scant knowledge we currently have about this species.