A Field Guide to the Snails of Lord Howe Island

96 Family Helicarionidae (Glass snails and semislugs) Parmellops etheridgei (Brazier, 1889) Etheridge’s Semislug Shell. Size: H = 0.1 mm, D = 13.6 mm. Colour: Orange-gold. Shape: Reduced, plate-like. Sculpture: Absent. Animal. Body generally pale yellowish-brown to white, occasionally black. Raised, white pigmentation forming triangle on tail behind visceral hump, bordered by thickened black spots that also extend along sides of body towards head. Shell only faintly visible through extended shell lappets. Cephalic shield (formed from extended mantle lobes) speckled with small black spots. Key distinguishing features. Differs from all other species in its reduced shell and flattened, slug-like body. Differs from congener P. perspicuus in its more opaque shell lappets and paler shell, and the presence of black and white pigmentation on the body. Habitat and occurrence. Common and abundant in Stephens Reserve, Soldier’s Creek and Smoking Tree Ridge. Also known from Settlement Beach, Middle Beach, and the upper slopes of Mt Lidgbird. Probably under-collected. Arboreal, living primarily in palm trees. Remarks. This species is most easily seen at night or after rain, when it will be actively crawling on palm leaves and trunks. Parmellops etheridgei