Macrobdella

Macrobdella
Macrobdella decora, the North American medicinal leech, in Buckingham, Quebec
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Annelida
Clade:	Pleistoannelida
Clade:	Sedentaria
Class:	Clitellata
Subclass:	Hirudinea
Order:	Arhynchobdellida
Suborder:	Hirudiniformes
Family:	Macrobdellidae
Genus:	Macrobdella Verrill, 1872 [1] [2]

Macrobdella is a genus of leeches ^[1] native to freshwater ecosystems of North America, especially Canada, Mexico, and the United States. ^[3] The genus is commonly referred to as North American medicinal leeches.

Species

There are five recognized species of Macrobdella. ^[1]

• Macrobdella decora (Say, 1824) ^{[4] [a]}
• Macrobdella diplotertia Meyer, 1975 ^[5]
• Macrobdelladitetra Moore, 1953 ^[6]
• Macrobdella mimicus Phillips, Salas-Montiel, Kvist, Oceguera-Figueroa, 2019 ^[7]
• Macrobdellasestertia Whitman, 1886 ^[8]

Notes

1. A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Macrobdella .

References

1. "Macrobdella Verrill, 1872". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 9 December 2025.
2. "Macrobdella Verrill, 1872". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 9 December 2025.
3. Oceguera-Figueroa, Alejandro; Salas-Montiel, Ricardo; Phillips, Anna J. (July 2016). "Distribution of the New England Medicinal Leech, Macrobdella sestertia Whitman, 1886 and redeterminations of specimens of Macrobdella (Annelida: Clitellata: Macrobdellidae) at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 129 (1): 103–113. doi: 10.2988/0006-324X-129.Q2.103 . ISSN   0006-324X.
4. "Macrobdella decora (Say, 1824)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2019-08-17.
5. "Macrobdella diplotertia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 9 December 2025.
6. "Macrobdella ditetra". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 9 December 2025.
7. Oceguera-Figueroa, Alejandro; Kvist, Sebastian; Salas-Montiel, Ricardo; Phillips, Anna J. (15 August 2019). "Phylogenetic Position and Description of a New Species of Medicinal Leech from the Eastern United States". Journal of Parasitology. 105 (4): 587–597. doi: 10.1645/18-119 . ISSN   0022-3395. PMID   31414949.
8. "Macrobdella sestertia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 9 December 2025.