| Limnatis nilotica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Limnatis nilotica movement | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Order: | Arhynchobdellida |
| Family: | Hirudinidae |
| Genus: | Limnatis |
| Species: | L. nilotica |
| Binomial name | |
| Limnatis nilotica (Savigny, 1822) | |
Limnatis nilotica is a species of leech in the family Hirudinidae. [1] It is hematophagous (feeding on blood), living on the mucous membranes of mammals.
Limnatis nilotica grows to a length of about 10 cm (4 in). It has powerful jaws and a sucker at both the anterior and the posterior end. The general colour is dark green and there are green spots in rows on the dorsal surface and bands of yellowish-orange and green on the sides. [2]
Limnatis nilotica is native to Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It inhabits stagnant ponds and shallow lakes. [3]
Limnatis nilotica is unable to pierce skin with its jaws which are relatively small, soft and rounded; there are about thirty flat teeth with rough surfaces on the jaws, and small papillae which probably secrete saliva. Instead it enters its mammalian host through an orifice and sucks blood from mucous membranes inside the host, often the pharynx. The ingested blood is granular in nature, perhaps because the leech has scraped the tissues as it fed. The volume of blood consumed at any one time is much smaller than is typical for the European medicinal leech, but L. nilotica may stay in place for several weeks, feeding at intervals. [4]
Limnatis nilotica is periodically reported as affecting humans and livestock, entering the host through the mouth, nose, and occasionally through the eye socket, the urethra or vagina. [5] In Iran, a pregnant cow showed respiratory distress and anaemia and was found to have a leech attached to the inside of the cheek and tongue; the cow was said to have drunk from a local pond. In another instance, a camel in Iraq had leeches inside its nasal cavity. There have been other reports from Iraq of affected cattle, sheep, donkeys and dogs. [2] Two young dogs in Iran with symptoms including anorexia, anaemia, hyper-salivation, retching, and bleeding from the mouth, were found to have leeches under their tongues. If left untreated animals may die, but these dogs recovered after the leeches were removed. [5]
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of most vertebrates that manipulates food for mastication and is used in the act of swallowing. It has importance in the digestive system and is the primary organ of taste in the gustatory system. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste buds housed in numerous lingual papillae. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva and is richly supplied with nerves and blood vessels. The tongue also serves as a natural means of cleaning the teeth. A major function of the tongue is the enabling of speech in humans and vocalization in other animals.
Hirudo medicinalis, the European medicinal leech, is one of several species of leeches used as "medicinal leeches".
In anatomy, a nasal concha, plural conchae, also called a nasal turbinate or turbinal, is a long, narrow, curled shelf of bone that protrudes into the breathing passage of the nose in humans and various animals. The conchae are shaped like an elongated seashell, which gave them their name. A concha is any of the scrolled spongy bones of the nasal passages in vertebrates.
Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
The Clitellata are a class of annelid worms, characterized by having a clitellum - the 'collar' that forms a reproductive cocoon during part of their life cycles. The clitellates comprise around 8,000 species. Unlike the class of Polychaeta, they do not have parapodia and their heads are less developed.
Haemadipsidae are a family of "jawed leeches". Some are classed as monophyletic group of hirudiniform proboscisless leeches. These leeches have five pairs of eyes, with the last two separated by two eyeless segments. Most have two jaws, but some have three. The family is monotypic, containing only the subfamily Haemadipsinae, though as the family can apparently be divided into two or three distinct lineages, at least one of the proposed splits, while not a distinct family, might be a valid subfamily.
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.
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, buccal cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on the outside by the lips and inside by the pharynx and containing in higher vertebrates the tongue and teeth. This cavity is also known as the buccal cavity, from the Latin bucca ("cheek").
The Hirudiniformes are one of the currently-accepted suborders of the proboscisless leeches (Arhynchobdellida). Their best-known member is the European medical leech, Hirudo medicinalis, and indeed most of the blood-sucking "worms" as which leeches are generally perceived belong to this group. In general, though some leeches suck blood, many are predators which hunt small invertebrates.
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and in having ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid, and the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels.
The pharynx is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the esophagus and larynx – the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs. It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its structure varies across species.
Tyrannobdella rex is a species of leech found in South America in the upper reaches of the Amazon. This newly found genus of leech takes sustenance from the mucous membranes of the mammalian upper respiratory tract, and is known to feed upon humans. It has eight teeth. Tyrannobdella rex was discovered feeding upon the mucous membrane of a girl who had recently bathed in the upper Amazon in Peru.
Erpobdella is a genus of leeches in the family Erpobdellidae. Members of the genus have three or four pairs of eyes, but never have true jaws, and are typically 20–50 millimetres (0.8–2.0 in) long. All members do not feed on blood, but instead are predators of small aquatic invertebrates, which they often swallow whole.
Hirudo is a genus of leeches of the family Hirudinidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Babesia canis is a parasite that infects red blood cells and can lead to anemia. This is a species that falls under the overarching genus Babesia. It is transmitted by the brown dog tick and is one of the most common piroplasm infections. The brown dog tick is adapted to warmer climates and is found in both Europe and the United States, especially in shelters and greyhound kennels. In Europe, it is also transmitted by Dermacentor ticks with an increase in infections reported due to people traveling with their pets.
The annelids, also known as the ringed worms or segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to various ecologies – some in marine environments as distinct as tidal zones and hydrothermal vents, others in fresh water, and yet others in moist terrestrial environments.
Acanthobdella peledina is a species of leech in the infraclass Acanthobdellidea. It feeds on the skin and blood of freshwater fishes in the boreal regions of northern Europe, Asia and North America.
Piscicola geometra is a species of leech in the family Piscicolidae. It is an external parasite of marine, brackish and freshwater fishes. It was first described as Hirudo geometra by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758.
Theromyzon tessulatum is a species of leech in the family Glossiphoniidae. It is a haematophagous (blood-sucking) leech, found in freshwater habitats in Europe.
Placobdelloides siamensis is a species of blood-feeding jawless leech in the family Glossiphoniidae. It is commonly known as the Siam shield leech and is a prevalent ectoparasite on Malayemys turtles but has a range of Geoemydidae hosts. In high numbers it can cause severe anaemia and malnutrition which can lead to the death of its host.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Limnatis nilotica . |