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Macrobdella decora, also known as the North American medicinal leech, is a species of freshwater leech found in much of eastern North America in freshwater habitats, although there is one disjunct population in northern Mexico. M. decora is a parasite of vertebrates, including humans, and an aquatic predator of eggs, larvae, and other ...
Macrobdella is a genus of leeches native to freshwater ecosystems of North America, especially Canada, Mexico, and the United States. [2] The genus is commonly referred to as North American medicinal leeches .
Placobdella parasitica is a species of leech found in North America. [2] Leeches are habitual ectoparasites of vertebrates in aquatic environments. Placobdella parasitica is differentiated from other members of the genus Placobdella by its smooth dorsal surface, simple to complicated pigmentation, and abdomen with 8 to 12 stripes.
Leeches can detect touch, vibration, movement of nearby objects, and chemicals secreted by their hosts; freshwater leeches crawl or swim towards a potential host standing in their pond within a few seconds. Species that feed on warm-blooded hosts move towards warmer objects.
Unlike many leeches which are blood-suckers, E. punctata is a predator and scavenger. [3] Among the invertebrates it eats are copepods, midges, earthworms and amphipods.This leech has been observed adhering to a salamander, thus being transported to a new location as well as benefiting from any food scraps discarded by the salamander.
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 ]
Erpobdella obscura is a freshwater ribbon leech common in North America. It is a relatively large leech and is commonly used as bait by anglers for walleye and other sport fish. In Minnesota , live bait dealers annually harvest over 45,000 kg of bait-leeches, raising concerns of over-harvest.
Branchiobdellida is an order of freshwater leech-like clitellates that are obligate ectosymbionts or ectoparasites, mostly of astacoidean crayfish. [1] They are found in the Northern Hemisphere and have a holarctic distribution in East Asia, the Euro-Mediterranean region and North and Central America, with the greatest species diversity being in North and Central America.