Good evening Fanatics, please settle on down and let me tell you a little story about a fellow named Triboniophorus graeffei. Triboniophorus graeffei, or Mr. Red Triangle Slug as his friends call him, is Australia's biggest, toughest terrestrial gastropod. At over five inches, this guy and his family can be found all over the island continent, and they are quite a common sight in gardens and parks, where they tend to favor algae, fungi and molds over the succulent native plants. They have even been known to sneak into houses and clean up folks' mildewey bathrooms. Truly a friend to humanity, the Red Triangle Slug.
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| Photo by Ros Runciman |
But, elevated far above the worries of the foolish lowlanders and their mildew, there exists a Red Triangle Slug of a different sort, scientists say. At just over EIGHT inches long, this slug has been known by hikers and rangers, but was only recently confirmed as a subspecies of Red Triangle Slug.
Oh readers, is this truly a slug to behold. It hails from the peak of Mount Kaputar in New South Wales, a long-dead volcano that now exists as a unique alpine habitat surrounded by Australian scrublands. In fact, Mount Kaputar is the ONLY place you will find this subspecies, which I will be calling the Really Really Red Triangle Slug for the purpose of this post. Oh readers, oh readers, this is truly the kind of discovery I like to see. Are you ready, dear readers? Here it comes:
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| Photo by New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service |
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| Via John Forlonge |
In addition to being fluorescent, you'll also notice it seems much more moist than the brown variety. That is because these slugs are likely the progenitors of the modern day Red Triangle Slugs, a relic from another time. They date back to Pangea, when the area that would eventually become Australia was still covered in conifer forests. As the area became more arid, the slugs that weren't hiding away on Kaputar had to adapt by becoming smaller and retaining more water. But in this piney Oasis, the RRRTS thrived.
It also resembles a fine cut of New York Strip.
Stay Fanatic,
Aaron
Aaron
