A new leech species (Clitellata: Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from the Łyna River near Olsztyn, Poland

J Parasitol. 2013 Jun;99(3):467-74. doi: 10.1645/GE-3154.1. Epub 2012 Dec 31.

Abstract

A new species of fish leech from Poland, Piscicola burresoni n. sp. (Piscicolidae), is described. The leech was found in 2007 on stones and on pike ( Esox lucius L.) and chub ( Leuciscus cephalus L.) in the Łyna River, Poland. The leech is small, relatively flattened, with a prominent coarctation between the trachelosome and urosome. The pigmentation is unique to the new species and it has 14 annuli with gonopores separated by 4 annuli. The receptaculum seminis consists of an elliptical aperture located at a distance of 3 annuli behind the female gonopore. The copulatory area on the clitellum is characteristic in the shape of a parallel ellipse. The vector tissue is in the form of a transverse plate below the oviduct outlet. For a complete description of the external morphology, a geometric-mathematical model of the leech body form was used.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Fins / parasitology
  • Animals
  • Cyprinidae / parasitology*
  • Ectoparasitic Infestations / parasitology
  • Ectoparasitic Infestations / veterinary*
  • Esocidae / parasitology*
  • Fish Diseases / parasitology*
  • Leeches / anatomy & histology
  • Leeches / classification*
  • Poland
  • Rivers