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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. [3]
From here it has spread to Australia, Europe and South America. It is a freshwater species. [2] In 2018 it was reported from two widely separated locations in North Carolina, but it is unclear whether these are as a result of two different introductions, or mean that the leech has become widely distributed but has previously been overlooked. [3]
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 ]
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.
In the case of the North American Erpobdella punctata, the clutch size is about five eggs, and some ten cocoons are produced. [35] Each cocoon is fixed to a submerged object, or in the case of terrestrial leeches, deposited under a stone or buried in damp soil. The cocoon of Hemibdella soleae is attached to a suitable fish host.
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.
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 .
Philobdella floridana is a species of leech that lives in the most southern parts of the United States. It is known only from Lake Okeechobee in Florida, and is probably conspecific with Philobdella gracilis. [2]