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"Jawed leeches" - termed "Gnathobdellae" or "Gnathobdellida" - are exclusively found among the Hirudiniformes, but the order contains a number of jawless families as well. The jawed, toothed forms make up the aquatic Hirudidae and the terrestrial Haemadipsidae and Xerobdellidae (sometimes included in the preceding but worthy of recognition as ...
Haemadipsidae (From Greek "haima" and "dipsa" ("blood" and "thirst", respectively) [original research?]) are a family of jawed leeches. They are a monophyletic group of hirudiniform proboscisless leeches. These leeches have five pairs of eyes, with the last two separated by two eyeless segments.
Hirudo is a genus of leeches of the family Hirudinidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [2] The two well-accepted species within the genus are: [3] Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758; Hirudo nipponia Whitman, 1886
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida.They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract.
Hirudinidae [1] is a family of leeches belonging to the order Arhynchobdellida. [2] Genera. The Interim Register of Marine and Non-marine Genera [3] lists:
Hirudo medicinalis, or the European medicinal leech, is one of several species of leeches used as medicinal leeches. Other species of Hirudo sometimes also used as medicinal leeches include H. orientalis, H. troctina, and H. verbana. The Asian medicinal leech includes Hirudinaria manillensis, and the North American medicinal leech is ...
Hirudinaria [1] is a genus of large Asian leeches belonging to the family Cylicobdellidae; [2] previously it was placed in the Hirudinidae. [3] [a] It includes species such as H. manillensis that may be called "Asian medicinal leeches", but together with the genus Poecilobdella, they are also described as Asian buffalo leeches.
Hirudin is a naturally occurring peptide in the salivary glands of blood-sucking leeches (such as Hirudo medicinalis) that has a blood anticoagulant property. [2] This is essential for the leeches' habit of feeding on blood, since it keeps a host's blood flowing after the worm's initial puncture of the skin.