| Common Name |
Leech |
| Phylum |
Annelida |
| Class |
Hirudinea |
| Order |
|
| Family |
|
| Description |
4-450mm, fully extended. Their bodies are hairless and somewhat soft but very muscular. They have a number of eyespots present on the first few segments of the body. They have two distinct suckers at the ends of the body. Almost all Hirudinea have some kind of patterning or bright colouration. For more photos, refer to our online gallery: tinyurl.com/tcetzsk |
| Habitat |
Most are found in lentic-littoral and lotic-depositional habitats, but some are lotic-erosional. Common Hirudinea species are found in shallow areas of lakes, ponds, marshes, and streams where plants, debris, or stones are plentiful. Hirudinea are not found in habitats with fine substrate because they cannot attach their suckers. |
| Feeding Information |
Feeds on fluid of other organisms, either by killing them or sucking on their blood usually without killing. Prey include insect larvae, aquatic earthworms, snails. Hosts include frogs, turtles, fish, waterfowl, and mammals. |
| Water Quality Tolerance |
Unstudied pollution tolerance. Can indicate low DO concentration levels when they account for a high proportion of sampled invertebrates. |
| References |
Voshell & Wright. 2002. |
