Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ]
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 ...
At other times, it is free-living in freshwater habitats. The adult broods its egg capsules on its under surface, where there may be as many as two hundred eggs. [2] When the young are ready to emerge, the adult uses its sensilla organs to detect vibrations in the water and will move towards any disturbance that might be caused by a potential ...
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.
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]
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.
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 ...