Checklist / Erpobdellidae / Trocheta / Trocheta africana
Trocheta africana
· Erpobdellidae
External morphology
Size up to 70 mm. The colour of living specimens is black. Four dark narrow longitudinal stripes are visible in the smooth dorsal surface. The colour of living specimens is black.The area between the inner paramedian stripes is less pigmented than the dorsal surface. The ventral surface is pale grey. Head with four pairs of eyes. The gonopores are separated by two annuli.
Habitat & range
- Habitat
- Freshwater
- Region
- Africa
- Recorded from
- Tunisia
Biology
This species prefers stagnant water or slow running rivers or brooks. It occurs mainly
in the higher regions of northern Tunisia
Original description
Ahmed, R.B., Bielecki, A., Cichocka, J.M., Tekaya, S., Gorzel, M. & Harrath, A.H. (2013) Erpobdellid leeches (Annelida, Clitellata, Hirudinida) from Tunisia: New records with the description of a new Trocheta species. Zootaxa, 3681 (4), 440–454.
Sources used for this page
Picture: 10.11646/zootaxa.3681.4.7