Sucking of human blood by Placobdella costata (O. F. Müller, 1846) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae): Case study with notes on body form

Joanna M Cichocka; Aleksander Bielecki; Izabela Jabłońska-Barna; Łukasz Krajewski; Katarzyna Topolska; Joanna Hildebrand; Małgorzata Dmitryjuk; Anna Biedunkiewicz; Andrei Abramchuk

doi:10.1002/ece3.8261

Sucking of human blood by Placobdella costata (O. F. Müller, 1846) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae): Case study with notes on body form

Ecol Evol. 2021 Dec 8;11(24):17593-17603. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8261. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Joanna M Cichocka^{1

2}, Aleksander Bielecki¹, Izabela Jabłońska-Barna³, Łukasz Krajewski⁴, Katarzyna Topolska⁵, Joanna Hildebrand⁶, Małgorzata Dmitryjuk⁷, Anna Biedunkiewicz⁸, Andrei Abramchuk⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Zoology Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland.
² XI High School in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland.
³ Department of Tourism, Recreation and Ecology Faculty of Geoengineering University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland.
⁴ Institute of Technology and Life Sciences-National Research Institute Raszyn Poland.
⁵ Wyspiańskiego 30/40 Jelenia Góra Poland.
⁶ Department of Parasitology Institute of Genetics and Microbiology University of Wrocław Wrocław Poland.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology University of Warmia and Mazury Olsztyn Poland.
⁸ Department of Microbiology and Mycology Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn Olsztyn Poland.
⁹ Brest Regional Branch of APB-Birdlife Belarus Brest Belarus.

Abstract

Four events of Placobdella costata sucking human blood are described.Human blood was sucked by both adult and juvenile specimens of P. costata.The feeding strategies of juveniles under parental care are presented.New data on juvenile specimens' body form are presented.Information on the potential role of mammals in dispersion and habitat preferences of leeches P. costata is considered.

Keywords: Rhynchobdellida; blood‐sucking leeches; host‐parasite interactions; morphometry; turtle leech.