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The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis , are hematophagous , attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the ...
Medicinal leeches, or Hirudo medicinalis, live in ponds and ditches where they feed on amphibians and grazing animals. They are also a protein-rich snack for others in the ecosystem.
Haemopis sanguisuga is a freshwater leech and is found across most of Europe [1] [4] as well as in Asia. [6] Typical habitats are in shallow parts of lakes, ponds, ditches and slow-moving rivers. It may emerge onto the land, hiding under stones, and it tolerates slightly brackish water. [4] It can be found as far as 30 metres away from water.
The Glossiphoniidae, the freshwater jawless leeches, [citation needed] or leaf leeches (due to their shape) [11] are freshwater leeches, flattened, and with a poorly defined anterior sucker. [2] The family Glossiphoniidae contains one of the world's largest species of leech, the giant Amazon leech , which can grow up to 45 cm in length. [ 12 ]
Listen and subscribe to our podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify WALKER, Minn. — Minnesota's third-largest lake has a namesake only an angler could love: the leech. Earthworm's ugly aquatic cousin.
Haementeria ghilianii is a species of leech in the Glossiphoniidae family, comprising freshwater proboscis-bearing leeches. Colloquially, they are known as the Amazon giant leech . Following its initial description in 1849, additional details were provided based on specimens from French Guiana in 1899, after which the species was largely ...
In Cairn Pond it was the dominant leech present, while in Jail Pond it was in competition with the larger leech, Erpobdella obscura, both relying on the same resources. In Jail Pond, E. punctata adults started breeding at a smaller size, started breeding earlier in the year and continued breeding over a longer time period, exhibiting an r ...
Leeches are hermaphrodites, and mating may take place on or off the fish host, but in either case, the cocoon, usually containing a single egg, is deposited elsewhere, usually stuck to a stone or piece of vegetation, or even to the carapace of a crustacean. When the egg hatches, the juvenile leech has about a week to find a suitable fish host ...