BUDDING citizen scientists have been called on to carry out a quest at Mount Kaputar to help protect unique pink slugs.
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The silver lining to the rainy weather is that spotters have an even better chance of finding the fluorescent creatures these school holidays.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services senior project officer Adam Fawcett said the Kaputar pink slug is "a kid's dream species".
"With predictions of a La Nina, we could be in for some wet weather and that's perfect weather for finding slugs," he said.
The slugs exist nowhere else in the world, Mr Fawcett said.
The slugs get to about 20cm long and are part of the Mount Kaputar land snail and slug Threatened Ecological Community (TEC).
With the help of enthusiastic young citizen scientists Mr Fawcett said the parks service hoped to learn more about the species to help protect it.
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"By reporting sightings, citizen scientists are helping threatened species experts determine where the slug is found, it's habitat preferences and if it's being affected by a changing climate over time," Mr Fawcett said.
The slugs can be hard to spot most of the day, however Mr Fawcett said they like it moist, making the morning a good time to be out looking.
"They are most commonly seen at night but can also be found on misty mornings and any time after rain," he said.
"Across Mount Kaputar National Park they are most commonly seen across the high altitude areas, anywhere from the Coryah Gap picnic area up to the summit and surrounding areas."
The slugs like to gorge themselves on mossy surfaces, making those a good shot for a spot.
"The slugs feed on lichen, fungi and microalgae on the surface of eucalypt bark and rock faces," Mr Fawcett said.
Once a slug has been spotted, an image of them can be logged in the Slug Sleuth app.
The app is part of the NSW Government's Saving our Species program and is free to download for both iOS and Android devices.
The school holidays are on for another week.
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