Bob McDonald, Unique and Endangered Giant Pink Slug (Animal & Nature 2021)

These vividly coloured slugs were first documented in 2014. The only place in the world where they are found is in a small alpine forest at the top of Mt Kaputar in NW NSW. On some rainy nights and cool misty days they emerge and feed on microalgae, lichen and fungi growing on the surface of rock faces and eucalypt bark. The already at-risk population was decimated in the 2019 bushfires, with only a low number surviving. The main threat now is climate change where a small rise in temperature could led to extinction of the species. Currently, it is widely recognised as an iconic flag ship species for the global threat to biodiversity posed by anthropogenic climate change.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.