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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 ]
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 ...
The majority of freshwater leeches are found in the shallow, vegetated areas on the edges of ponds, lakes and slow-moving streams; very few species tolerate fast-flowing water. In their preferred habitats, they may occur in very high densities; in a favourable environment with water high in organic pollutants, over 10,000 individuals were ...
Glossiphoniidae are a family of freshwater proboscis-bearing leeches. These leeches are generally flattened, and have a poorly defined anterior sucker . Most suck the blood of freshwater vertebrates like amphibians , crocodilians and aquatic turtles , but some feed on invertebrates like oligochaetes and freshwater snails instead.
A rare breed of blood-sucking leech is being bred at London Zoo in a bid to save the UK’s largest native leech species from extinction. The medicinal leech was once widespread in Britain, but ...
Macrobdella decora is a medium-sized leech, growing between 5 and 8.5 cm (2.0 and 3.3 in) long, and weighing from 1.48 to 3.69 grams (0.052 to 0.130 oz). [1]: 67 [2]: 155 It has a dark green, brown or olive-green back with a line of 20 or so small orange or red dots down the middle, and two corresponding sets of black dots on its sides.
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 ...
E. octoculata is one of the most common freshwater leeches in Europe with documentation in over 20 countries. [7] [8] This species has been shown to be more abundant in fast moving streams and rivers with rocky bottoms than other leech species. [9] [10] E. octoculata prefers acidic bodies of water with low nutrient content. [10]