Checklist / Hirudinidae / Hirudo / Hirudo medicinalis
Hirudo medicinalis
· Hirudinidae
External morphology
Large species, up to 100 mm. 4 bright orange stripes. Outer lateral stripes broken with dark spots. Dorsal backround color brown or olive brown. Ventral side yellowish with random marble-like dark patches.
Habitat & range
- Habitat
- Freshwater
- Region
- North America, Europe, Asia
- Recorded from
- Canada, USA, China, Taiwan
Biology
Preferring shallow warm ponds which are rich on vegetation. Adults are opportunistic parasites of mammals. Semiaquatic placing of large foamy coccons. In winter burrowing into mud, vulnerable to locality management during winter and autum months. Can survive short drying of locality. Vulnerable due loss of natural habitat, former overharvesting for medical purposes and invasive presence of Hirudo verbana.
Original description
Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp.
Sources used for this page
Picture: Hirudinida pijavice - Determinace vodních bezobratlých, Description: sumie-dh