Atopos is a genus of carnivorous air-breathing land slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Rathouisiidae.
Species Species within the genus Atopos include: Atopos aborense (Ghosh, 1913) Atopos australis Heynemann, 1876 Atopos cristagalli P. Sarasin & F. Sarasin, 1899 Atopos galeatus Simroth, 1920 Atopos harmeri Collinge, 1902 Atopos kempii Ghose, 1913Liew T.-S. & Schilthuizen M. (2014). "Association between shell morphology of micro-land snails (genus Plectostoma) and their predator’s predatory behaviour". PeerJ 2: e329. . Atopos leuckarti Simroth, 1891 Atopos laidlawi Collinge, 1902 Atopos maximus Collinge 1903 Atopos ouwensi Collinge, 1908 Atopos prismatica Tapparone-Canefri, 1883 Atopos pristis P. Sarasin & F. Sarasin, 1899 Atopos punctata Collinge, 1902 Atopos rugosus Collinge, 1902 Atopos sanguinolentus Ghosh, 1912 Atopos sarasini Collinge 1902Laidlaw F. F. (1940). "Notes on some specimens of the genus Atopos (Mollusca Pulmonata) with microphotographs illustrating points in the anatomy of the genus". The Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 16: 121-132. PDF . Atopos schildii Babor, 1900 Atopos scutulatus P. Sarasin & F. Sarasin, 1899 Atopos semperi Simroth, 1891 Atopos simrothi P. Sarasin & F. Sarasin, 1899 Atopos smithi (Collinge, 1902) Atopos strubelli Simroth, 1891 Atopos tourannensis (Eydoux & Souleyet, 1852)
Synonyms: Atopos leonina (Heude, 1882) is a synonym of Rathouisia leonina Heude, 1882
Distribution The predatory carnivorous slugs in the genus Atopos are found in peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, New Guinea, northeast Australia and, recently, Singapore.
Feeding habits
Bornean Atopos specialising in Opisthostoma are known to tailor their approach to the size of the prey. They hold small snails with the shells aperture-upward with the front of its foot and eat their way down. Larger ones scrape away the shell to allow access through the spire. This behaviour is thought to drive the evolution of shell ornamentation in Opisthostoma.Tan S. K. & Chan S-Y. (2009). "New records of predatory slugs from Singapore with notes on their feeding behaviour". Nature in Singapore 2: 1-7. PDF.
References
External links
photo of predating by Atopos (figure b)