Erpobdella apathyi (Erpobdellidae)

External morphology

Large cylindrical leeches up to 90 mm in length. Anterior part of the body not constricted. The posterior part of the body is flattened with blunt lateral keels. Annulus b6 is slightly broadened and subdivided by a very shallow furrow in annuli cll/c12. The male genital pore is situated in furrow XII b2/a2, the female in XII b5/cl1. The genital pores are separated by two annuli. The dorsal body colour is basically black, the ventral side is dark reddish brown. Each annulus bears one transverserow of large yellow spots. Due to the subdivision of annulus b6 there are two rows of smaller spots on this annulus.

Internal morphology

The atrium is large with elongated uncoiled comua reaching from XII b1 to XII b5. In the pharynx, small to medium sized pseudognatha are present.

Habitat & range

Habitat: Freshwater
Region: Europe
Recorded from: Poland, Hungaria, Romania, Austria

Biology

This species lives in lowland rivers and streams as well as in lakes and swamps. It is a very rare species with only a few populations known.

Junior synonyms

Dina apathyi

Sources used for this page

Description: ISBN 9783827409270: Picture: ISBN 9783827409270