California is close to having two new state symbols — a famous slug and an expensive crab.
UC Santa Cruz students and alums have something to celebrate. Their mascot, the banana slug, is about to become the official state slug.
A banana slug at Butano State Park.California State Parks“Fun fact, banana slugs have more teeth than a shark. Can you imagine?” said Assembly member Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz), who authored the bill. The shell-less terrestrial gastropod molluscs can have up to 27,000 teeth.
You can find the slugs in coastal lowlands, where they have a symbiotic relationship with redwood trees. Banana slugs cut down their competition by eating young shoots of other trees. Redwoods reciprocate by creating a cooler climate on the forest floor.
But the slug isn’t the only new official state symbol. California will also have a state crustacean — the Dungeness crab.
In California, the side walking decapods can be found along the northern and central coasts, both on the shore and on many restaurant menus. Ukiah Assembly member Jim Wood made the case for the move.
“So I ask, members, that you don't let this bill get clawed back. It's time to shell-elebrate the importance of the Dungeness crab,” he said to a roomful of groans.
Fresh Dungeness crabs fill a tank at the Alioto-Lazio Fish Company at Fisherman's Wharf Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in San Francisco.AP Photo/Eric Risberg
The crabs bring in an average of $57 million annually to the state. Yearly crab landings can vary a lot, though, and climate change is impacting both crabs and the industry built around them.
The bills are now crawling their way to the governor’s desk.
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