Annotated checklist of the leech species diversity in the Maloe More Strait of Lake Baikal, Russia
Author
Kaygorodova, Irina A.
text
ZooKeys
2015
545
37
52
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.545.6053
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.545.6053
1313-2970-545-37
5F786F123BD940CF838C7F31F7F3F93B
5F786F123BD940CF838C7F31F7F3F93B
Taxon
classification Animalia Rhynchobdellea Glossiphoniidae
Glossiphonia sp. 1
New species records.
Kurma Bay, Lake Surkhaytor-Nur, Lake Zunduk, Lake Zama.
Morphological characteristics.
Length is up to 25 mm. Three pairs of eyes. On the dorsal side there are longitudinal rows of dark pigmentation (Fig. 2). Central pair of stripes is always brighter in comparison with the more lateral ones.
Figure 2.
Glossiphonia
sp. 1 (below) and
Alboglossiphonia heteroclita
(above) from Kurma Bay of the Maloe More Strait (Lake Baikal). Scale bar 10 mm.
Ecological characteristics.
Specimens were collected in the littoral zone. Life cycle is typical for majority of the genus. It prefers to sit on the rocks, or slowly crawl. This leech feeds almost exclusively on molluscs, and sometimes on worms or larvae of insects. With its elastic proboscis, it pierces the delicate covers of the victim and sucks its blood. The Maloe More
Glossiphonia
sp. 1, like other glossiphoniids, takes care of its young.