About Ariolimax buttoni (Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1896)
Ariolimax buttoni (Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1896) is a species of banana slug native to the West Coast of the United States. Its body has a yellowish-tan color similar to a banana, and individuals may be spotted or unspotted. This slug species is generally more sedentary, but will migrate to find food or to reproduce. Like other banana slugs, Ariolimax buttoni is hermaphroditic, meaning each individual functions as both male and female at the same time. During reproduction, this species engages in apophallation, a behavior where a slug chews off its mating partner's penis. Its mating season lasts for a very long period, from February to early September, and copulation itself also takes an extended amount of time. Data from a study conducted by Janet Leonard shows the average mating process lasts up to seven hours, with some extreme cases lasting as long as 23 hours. Because these slugs are hermaphroditic, when one individual acts as the female during mating, it inverts its penis for sexual reproduction to occur. Cross-fertilization is not always required for this species, though. A. buttoni can produce viable offspring with high hatching success rates through uniparental reproduction. A. buttoni has a total lifespan of around 30 months. Individuals typically reach sexual maturity at about one year of age, and lay eggs in the fall or winter. Observations have recorded that Ariolimax buttoni can begin copulating when it is as young as 8 months old.
