It's a slug; it has to be slimy.
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| Chocolate slug, aka red slug, Arion rufus, at Bear Creek Nature Park |
But isn't it beautiful?
I didn't know this until I checked E-Fauna: these shiny black slugs are just one colour morph of the European Red slug. Sometimes they're light brown with a dark head and orange foot. Sometimes they're just pale brown without the keel. Or they may be chocolate brown. Or even orange. (Links go to E-Fauna photos.)
They may even be bright red, although E-Fauna doesn't have a photo of one, and I've never seen one. I've seen all the other colour morphs, without realizing they were all the same species. (Like cats or dogs, their coat colour is whatever turns up in the shake of the DNA.)
They're an exotic species: our only native BC species is the big banana slug. I see those mostly in the woods; the little Chocolate eats my garden flowers. And my lettuce any year I dare plant any.
I almost stepped on one on the trail behind our RV at Deception Pass State Park. - Margy
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