The ninja slug is a weird little guy found only in the state of Sabah Borneo, an island of Malaysia, in its various mountains.
They spend most of their lives on tree leaves and sleep out in the open since slugs don’t have shells. For cover they wrap their extremely long tails around their bodies like a cat.
They were almost named Ibycus Felis, as in feline, after this cat like trait but instead the scientist who discovered it decided to name it after his girlfriend hence, ibycus rachelae.
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Did you know there are animals called semi-slugs? The ninja slug falls into this category. Semi slugs have a shell, but it’s too small for them to retract their bodies into.
Now ninja slugs aren’t a threat to humans, but the males can be a threat to female ninja slugs due to their unique mating ritual.
Males fire what are being called love darts at the females during the courtship process. These “darts” are harpoon like projectiles made of calcium carbonate and is the source of their unique nickname, ninja slug. ,
Other things that are largely made up of calcium carbonate, sea shells, coral, and pearls, so these “darts” are hard.
The darts pierce the females’ skin and inject a hormone into her which is thought to play a role in increasing the chances of reproduction.
Meet the Borneo Ninja Slug
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