BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Hemphillia burringtoni
Keeled Jumping-slug
| Scientific Name: | Hemphillia burringtoni Pilsbry, 1948 | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Hemphillia glandulosa
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| English Name: | Keeled Jumping-slug | ||||||||||
| English Name Synonyms: |
Warty Jumping-slug
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| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | Formerly Hemphillia glandulosa (Warty Jumping Slug). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | MO-HEMBUR | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G3 (Apr 2023) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2? (Mar 2025) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Special Concern (Apr 2013) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Special Concern (Jan 2005) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | No subspecies are recognized. However, recent molecular studies using mitochondrial DNA show that the nominal species consists of two major clades, each including a number of geographically separated subclades (Wilke 2004). Specimens from Vancouver Island are part of the coastal major clade, the distribution of which extends south through western Washington to west-central Oregon. Specimens from Vancouver Island are clustered together with those from northwestern Olympic Peninsula within a distinct subclade. | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | A small, robust, grey to tan slug with length up to about 30 mm when extended in movement (Forsyth 2004). As in other members of the genus Hemphillia, the visceral pouch is raised into a pronounced hump, and a portion of the yellowish, internal shell plate is visible through a slit in the mantle. Small size and a relatively large mantle (about one half of the length of the body) covered with conical papillae are distinguishing features. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | This species is oviparous and hermaphroditic (each individual possessing both male and female reproductive organs). Details of reproductive biology are poorly known. Eggs are relatively large and deposited in small clusters over several months, probably throughout the autumn (COSEWIC 2003b). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Ecology Comments: | The species exists at the northern limits of its distribution on Vancouver Island. Individuals from the interior mountains of the Vancouver Island appear to reach unusually large size when compared to those from Washington (COSEWIC 2003b), but whether the species' life history or ecology differ from those farther south has not been studied. Populations at the limits of a species' range may become important for the survival of the species under large-scale perturbations, such as climate change. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / Y N / N N / N na / N |
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| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | Similar to many other terrestrial gastropods, the Warty Jumping-slug is thought to have low mobility and dispersal ability (COSEWIC 2003b, NatureServe 2007). Passive dispersal with the movement of water, wind, or other elements or by animal vectors is unlikely. Inadvertent transport by humans is also unlikely. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Unknown
Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Unknown Forest / Mixed Forest (deciduous/coniferous mix) / Unknown Riparian / Riparian Forest / Unknown |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species occurs in secondary and old growth coniferous and mixed wood forests that generally have dense canopy cover, high soil moisture, high precipitation, cool temperatures and sufficient large woody debris. It will use riparian areas but is not riparian dependent. They range from near sea-level to just over a 1000 meters. Where suitable moist conditions are present, the slug can occupy young seral stages but is more often found in stands at least 60 years old. Although they can be found in areas with canopy cover from 2 to 100 percent; only 5 percent of occurrences have less than 69 percent canopy cover with only one percent of occurrences in less than 56 percent canopy cover. Plant associations are variable across sites, but in general, canopy species include western hemlock, Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, western red cedar, and occasionally Pacific silver fir. Plant associations in the western hemlock zone include drier sites with salal (Gaultheria shallon) and Oregon grape (Berberis nervosa) and moister sites with sword fern, Devil?s club (Oplopanax horridus), salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), Alaska huckleberry (Vaccinium alaskaense), and red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: | This species occupies moist forests from young seral stages to old growth and from low to mid-elevations (COSEWIC 2003b). It is often found in forested riparian areas along creeks or rivers. Moist forest floor conditions appear to be more important than forest age or type. Required microhabitat features include coarse woody debris, pockets of deep leaf litter, or other moist shelter sites such as provided by root-masses of sword ferns. It "occurs sporadically in coniferous, deciduous and mixed-wood forests" (Forsyth 2004). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | Little information is available on the diet of this species. The slugs probably feed on fungi, vegetation, decaying wood, or micro-organisms associated with decomposing matter (Burke et al. 2005). On Vancouver Island, the slugs have been found feeding on mushrooms (Ovaska and Sopuck 2006b); in captivity they readily feed on fresh vegetable matter. | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Provincial Phenology Comments: | Little is known of the phenology of this species. It is thought that individual slugs seldom live more than one year and probably over-winter as eggs (COSEWIC 2003b). A few individuals may survive to their second year. On Vancouver Island, adult-sized slugs have been observed from April to November, and mating pairs have been found in September - November (COSEWIC 2003b, Ovaska et al. 2001). | ||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: 20 / 1060 |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species is found from southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, throughout the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, USA, to southern Washington, Pacific County near Walipa Bay with the southern extent in Siuslaw National Forest in western Oregon, USA. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Ramsay, L. (2023) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Apr 07, 2023 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Kristiina Ovaska | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Oct 01, 2008 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC. |
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Burke, T. E., M. Wainwright, and N. Duncan. 2005. Conservation assessment for four species of the genus Hemphillia. Originally issued as Management Recommendations in February 1998 by T. Burke. Revised in October 2005 by M. Wainwright and N. Duncan. USDA Forest Service Region 6 and USDI Bureau of Land Management, Oregon and Washington. |
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COSEWIC. 2003b. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Warty Jumping-slug Hemphillia glandulosa in Canada. 2003b. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 19 pp. |
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Forsyth, R.G. 2004. Land snails of British Columbia. University of British Columbia Press. Vancouver, BC. 176pp. |
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NatureServe. 2007. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 6.2. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer (Accessed: January 08, 2008 ). |
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Ovaska, K. and L. Sopuck. 2006b. Surveys for terrestrial gastropods at risk in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, 2006. Report prepared by Biolinx Environmental Research Ltd for Parks Canada, Western and Northern Service Centre, Victoria, B.C. |
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Ovaska, K., R. Forsyth and L. Sopuck. 2001. Surveys for potentially endangered terrestrial gastropods in southwestern British Columbia, April-November, 2000-2001. Final report prepared for Endangered Species Recovery Fund, Vancouver, BC and Wildlife Habitat Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. vii + 47 pp. |
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Wilke, T. 2004. Genetic and analytical analyses of the jumping-slugs. Report prepared by T. Wilke, George Washington University, Washington DC for USDA Forest Service, Olympia, under contract 43-05G2-1-10086. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2023. Species Summary: Hemphillia burringtoni. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).