Limax maximus

Limax maximus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Heterobranchia
Order:	Stylommatophora
Family:	Limacidae
Genus:	Limax
Species:	L. maximus
Binomial name
Limax maximus Linnaeus, 1758[2]
Synonyms
[3] Limax cinereus Lister, 1678 Limax cinereus O. F. Müller, 1774 (partim.) Limacella parma Brard, 1815 Limax antiquorum Férussaac, 1819 (partim.) Limax maculatus Nunneley, 1837 (non maculatus Kaleniczenko, 1851) Limax cellarius (d'Argenville) Lessona et Polonera, 1882 Limax carbonarius albanicus Jaeckel, 1954

Limax maximus (literally, "biggest slug"), known by the common names great grey slug and leopard slug, is a species of slug in the family Limacidae, the keeled slugs.^[4] It is among the largest keeled slugs, Limax cinereoniger being the largest.

Limax maximus is the type species of the genus Limax. The adult slug measures 10–20 cm (4–8 in) in length and is generally a light greyish or grey-brown with darker spots and blotches, although the coloration and exact patterning of the body of this slug species is quite variable.

This species has a very unusual and distinctive mating method, where the pair of slugs use a thick thread of mucus to hang suspended in the air from a tree branch or other structure.

Although native to Europe, this species has been accidentally introduced to many other parts of the world, first discovered outside its native range in Philadelphia, USA in 1867.^{[5] [clarification needed]}