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(Image Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)
BY JASMINE BAILEY
Got a riddle for you — what's pink, slimy and sticky all over? I don't know what you
were thinking, but the answer is... a slug, and it was just recently identified in Australia
— the only place on Earth it's known to live.
"Park rangers in Australia say the giant neon pink slugs have been popping up all over mountain
tops in New South Wales. It's about 8 inches long and scientist believe the slugs are left
over from when the mountain was a rain forest." (Via KOIN)
And although they were only recently identified, the hot pink slugs are believed to date back
as far as 180 million years ago. (Via WNBC)
Back to when the all land masses on Earth were linked into one mass called Pangaea.
(Via Youtube / CoolscienceVideos)
Then as the masses began to split into the continents we know today, a volcano erupted
on Mount Kaputar isolating it from the rest of Australia, eventually becoming a safe haven
for invertebrates and plant species.
Leaving the pink slug to only exist on the six by six-mile block of land atop the mountain.
(Via Wikimedia Commons / Ouroborus)
A national parks ranger on Kaputar Mountain told The Sydney Morning Herald:
"I'm a big believer in invertebrates... People tend to focus on the cute and cuddly bird
and mammal species like koalas. But these little behind-the-scenes invertebrates really
drive whole ecosystems."
And the little 8-inch pink slugs really do. According to International Science Times,
during the day it buries itself in decaying undergrowth...
...and every night hundreds of them crawl out to feed on mold and moss that grow on
trees. (Via TreeHugger)
But the hot pink slimy residents of the mountaintop aren't the only the only unique inhabitants
— the isolated patch of land is also filled with cannibalistic snails.
In a slow battle each night the carnivorous snail follows the gooey path of its vegetarian
relative in an effort to gobble it up. (Via Daily Mail)
The area to the rare slimy spectacles is very susceptible to climate change. Temperatures
a degree or two higher and the delicate mountaintop could dry out along with the moist marvels.