Pontobdella

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Pontobdella
Untitled various annelid worms - Philip Henry Gosse - 809 1997 40 (cropped to Pontobdella).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Clade: Sedentaria
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Hirudinea
Order: Rhynchobdellida
Family: Piscicolidae
Genus: Pontobdella
Leach, 1815
Type species
Hirudo muricata

Pontobdella is a species of marine leeches with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are covered with tubercles and their primary hosts are rays, sharks, skates, and sawfish.

Contents

Distribution

Pontobdella species are found on the coasts of Africa, Eurasia, the Americas, New Zealand, and even Antarctica. [1]

Characteristics

A prominent feature of Pontobdella leeches are the "wart-like" tubercles which cover their bodies all over. Pontobdella's hosts are generally elasmobranchs – rays, sharks, skates, and sawfish. Each segment of the leech's body (and all leeches have 32) has three or four annuli. [2] [3] : 236  They are large leeches; one species, Pontobdella novaezealandiae , can grow as long as 20 centimetres. [3] : 236  [4]

Classification

The genus was described by William Elford Leach. Pontobdella is placed in the family Piscicolidae, [1] and is confirmed to form a monophyletic grouping. [5] : 193 

Species

The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species: [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Pontobdella Leach, 1815". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  2. ↑ Kuo, Dian-Han; Lai, Yi-Te (4 November 2018). "On the origin of leeches by evolution of development". Development, Growth & Differentiation. 61 (1): 43–57. doi: 10.1111/dgd.12573 . PMID   30393850. S2CID   53218704.
  3. 1 2 Burreson, Eugene M.; Passarelli, Julianne Kalman (2015). "A New Species of Pontobdella (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from California with a Redescription of the Genus Pontobdella" (PDF). Comparative Parasitology. 82 (2). The Helminthological Society of Washington: 235–239. doi:10.1654/4757.1. ISSN   1525-2647.
  4. ↑ Burreson, Eugene M.; Williams, Julianne I. (2008). "Two new genera and three new species of leeches (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) from New Zealand marine fishes" . New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 42 (4): 379–387. doi:10.1080/00288330809509966. ISSN   0028-8330. Archived from the original on 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  5. ↑ Ruiz-Escobar, Fernando; Torres-Carrera, Gerardo; Islas-Villanueva, Valentina; Oceguera-Figueroa, Alejandro (2024-05-03). "Molecular Phylogeny of the Leech Genus Pontobdella (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) with Notes on Pontobdella californiana and Pontobdella macrothela" . Journal of Parasitology. 110 (3). doi:10.1645/23-122. ISSN   0022-3395.
  6. ↑ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pontobdella Leach, 1815". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2024-11-28. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
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