Checklist & Key of Freshwater Leeches
Southern African Checklist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/check_lists/4436345-leeches-of-s-Afr?q=&view=photo&taxon=&observed=any&threatened=any&establishment_means=any&occurrence_status=any&rank=all&taxonomic_status=all&commit=Filter
Key below:
Comments
Key to the Freshwater Leeches of Southern Africa
Oosthuizen and Siddall 2003
• 1. Total annuli > 80; complete segments: 5-7-annulate; young not carried; without proboscis; good swimmers; cylindrical Goto 2
• 1’ Total annuli < 80; complete segments: 3-annulate; young carried on ventral side of parent; with extensible proboscis, no jaws; non- swimming; dorsoventrally flattened (Family Glossiphoniidae) Goto 5
• 2. Eyes: 5 pairs, in parabolic arch Goto 3
• 2’ Eyes: <5 pairs, excl. ocelli; dorsallu uniformly coloured; jawless (Family Salifidae) Goto 19
• 3. Banded colour pattern (alternating dark and yellowish green bands) dorsally; (amphibious)… 'Mesobdella' lineata
• 3’ Dorsally uniformly coloured, with or without numerous, small, black spots or longitudinally striped pattern Goto 4
• 4. With jaws (Hirudinidae) Goto 21
• 4’ Jawless; uniformly pearl grey without black spots, ventrally much paler, with a wide, yellow lateral stripe … Semiscoloides congolensis
• 5. Eyes in 4 pairs Goto 6
• 5’ Eyes in 1-3 pairs Got 8
• 6. Eyes in 2 subparallel rows … Theromyzon cooperi
• 6’ First 3 pairs of eyes in 2 subparallel rows, 4 pair lateral (buccal eyes) Goto 7
• 7. Dorsally distinctly marked with 2-4 rows of dark spots; crop caecae with anteriorly directed lobes in first pair … Oosthuizobdella garoui
• 7’ Dorsally without dark spots; crop caecae first pair without anteriorly directed lobes … Oosthuizobdella stuhlmanni
• 8. Eyes: 3 pairs (NB: posterior pairs may coalesce appearing as one, but check for bilobed shape) Goto 9
• 8’ Eyes: 1-2 pairs Goto 13
• 9. Eyes: 2 rows, pairs 2-3 large, equal, pairs equidistant (i.e. in a square), pair 1 very small; head expanded to a circular sucker, distinct from body; dorsally not striped; crop caecae: 10 pairs … Hemiclepsis quadrata
• 9’ Eyes: paired at 3 corners (triangle), pairs 2-3 coalesced; head not obviously dilated; dorsally finely striped or mottled; crop caecae: 6-7 pairs Goto 10
• 10. Gonopores separated by 1 annulus; dorsally 34-36 narrow, longitudinal green or brown stripes at widest region of body; crop caecae: 7 pairs. … Alboglossiphonia conjugata
• 10’ Gonopores separated by 2 annuli Goto 11
• 11. Dorsally with 14-20 narrow, longitudinal, brown stripes at widest region, with rough papillae - each annulus in mid zone with ~12 large and several much smaller papillae … Alboglossiphonia macrorhyncha
• 11’ Dorsally with >20 narrow, longitudinal stripes at widest region, or finely mottled; crop caecae: 7 pairs Goto 12
• 12. Dorsally with 28-30 narrow, dark green or brown stripes, not roughened by papillae; cephalic sucker deep and cup-shaped; crop caecae 1-6 bilobed … Alboglossiphonia cheili
• 12’ Dorsally with 34-36 green or light brown, narrow stripes or finely mottled, roughened in middle zone by 15-18 large papillae and numerous smaller; cephalic sucker not deeply cup-shaped … Alboglossiphonia disjuncta
• 13. (from 8) Eyes: 2 pairs, pair 1 very small (1/4-1/3 diameter pair 2 Goto 14
• 13’ Eyes: 1 pair Goto 15
• 14. Eyes: pair 1 close - between and in line with antero-medial corners of second pair; proboscis pore in centre of sucker; dorsally with 3-5 rows of large papillae forming ridges (sometimes only obvious when dead), towards back with 4-6 rows of bright yellow spots … Batracobdelloides tricarinata
• 14’ Eyes: pair 1 more widely separated than pair 2 and in front, and opposite, outer margins of second pair; proboscis pore at leading edge of sucker; dorsally without ridges or yellow spots … Oosthuizobdella aspera
• 15. Dorasally with brown chitinoid plaque at neck; crop caecae: 6 pairs … Helobdella stagnalis
• 15’ Chitinoid plate absent Goto 16
• 16. Dorsum of every 3rd annulus with up to 8 large, dark-coloured tubercles, tipped with black, in a transverse row; gonopores separated by 1 annulus; crop caecae: 5 pairs … Helobdella conifera
• 16’ Dorsym without tubercles or or if large tubercles then not arranged as above; gonopores separated by two annuli; crop caecae: 7 pairs Goto 17
• 17. Mouth large; eyes coalesced; dorsum with 11 pairs of dark green patches; when reproducing: enclosed brood pouch and aperture on mid-ventral line in posterior half ... Marsupiobdella africana
• 17’ Proboscis pore small, at front margin of cephalic sucker. Goto18
• 18. Dorsum with interrupted, golden-yellow median stripe from eyes to near posterior sucker and 5 series of dark, irregularly-shaped blotches and roughened by irregularly-arranged papillae of various sizes; eyes well separated … Placobdelloides multistriata
• 18’ Uniformly flesh-coloured to olive brown; dorsum of each annulus extremely roughened by large tubercles, each with a rosette of pointed papillae; each annulus in mid-body with transverse row of 15-24 tubercles; eyes touching … Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi
(from 2)
• 19. Accessory copulatory pores 2, one anterior and one posterior to the male and female gonopores respectively; eyes 2 'pairs' with posterior pair doublets … Barbronia spp.
• 19’ Accessory copulatory pores absent Goto 20
• 20. Eyes: 1 pair only; gonopores separated by 7 annuli … Salifa africana
• 20’ Eyes 1 pair with 6-7 accessory pairs of ocelli; gonopores separated by 5 annuli … Salifa perspicax
(from 4)
• 21. Dorsum side with longitudinally-striped colour pattern, sides yellow or orange Goto 22
• 21’ Dorsal side uniformly coloured, with or without small black spots Goto 28
• 22. Ventrum heavily maculated (spotted/ blotched) with black; 6 dark bands dorsally, with large, black maculations … Asiaticobdella fenestrata
• 22’ Ventrum with a few black maculations or lacking pigment Goto 23
• 23. Dorsum with a dark median stripe Goto 24
• 23’ Dorsum without a dark median stripe Goto 27
• 24. Ventrum without marginal black stripes; dorsum with 5-7 dark stripes or with median black stripe only … Hirudo hildebrandti
• 24’ Ventrum with black marginal stripes Goto 25
• 25. Dorsum side with 11 narrow black stripes, first 2 pairs on each side of median stripe segmentally merged to form a chain-like pattern … Aliolimnatis africana
• 25’ Dorsum side with 7 dark stripes alternating with 6 light-coloured stripes … 26
• 26. Median stripe black, light-coloured stripes yellow … Aliolimnatis oligodonta
• 26’ Median stripe light brown, remaining light-coloured stripes olive green … Aliolimnatis buntonensis
• 27. Dorsum with 6 narrow, dark-brown stripes … Aliolimnatis obscura
• 27’ Dorsum with 5 yellow stripes bordered with black … Hirudo michaelseni
• 28. Gonopores separated by 8 annuli; uniformly spotted with small, black blotches … Praobdella maculata
• 28’ Gonopores separated by 5 annuli; without black spots … Praobdella radiata
NOTES ON SPECIES
Haemadipsidae Amphibious Leeches
Strictly terrestrial (more commonly known from the Australasian tropics).
Not clear if South American and African Mesobdella spp are closest relatives of India-Asia, but ecology the same.
'Mesobdella' lineata 14mm.
Forest streams. KZN, Mp, Lim. Probably haematophagous. Not common. When out of the water, keeps to wet rocks and vegetation close to stream.
Haemopidae Mud Leeches
Macrophageous only on earthworms and other invertebrates (not blood feeders). Sluggish, found in detritus or mud.
Semiscoloides congolensis (Sciacchitano, 1959) (=Semiscolex congolensis) 45 mm.
Localized: Victoria Falls. (Zim). Macrophagous. Probably terrestrial.
Glossiphoniidae Flat Leeches
Strongly dorso-ventrally flattened. Parental care - young attach to the venter of the parent after hatching and are transported to their first blood meal.
Theromyzon cooperi (Harding, 1932) (=Theromyzon lineatum) 26 mm.
Fairly common to abundant in pans, dams and vleis inhabited by waterbirds. Haematophagous on birds..
Oosthuizobdella garoui (Harding, 1932) (=Placobdella garoui) 38 mm.
Common, often in large numbers. e sAfr. Rare in drier w. Fairly common in n Nam. Various habitats, esp. pans and vleis. Haematophagous on reptiles, birds and mammals.
Oosthuizobdella stuhlmanni (Blanchard, 1897) (=Placobdella stuhlmanni) 33 mm.
Common in sAfr. Haematophagous on amphibians, absent where amphibians scarce.
Hemiclepsis quadrata (Moore, 1924) (= Batracobdella quadrata) (= Alboglossiphonia quadrata Sawyer 1986) 8 mm.
Rare? coastal n KZN. Probably haematophagous on fish.
Alboglossiphonia conjugata (Oosthuizen, 1978) (= Batracobdella conjugata) 9 mm.
sAfr, very common in nw, less common elsewhere. Liquidosomatophagous.
Alboglossiphonia macrorhyncha (Oosthuizen, 1978) (=Glossiphonia macrorhyncha) 10 mm.
Very common in e sAfr, decreasing w, not in w half. Liquidosomatophagous.
Alboglossiphonia cheili (Oosthuizen, 1978) (=Batracobdella cheili) 3 mm
sAfr, very common in nw, not common elsewhere. Liquidosomatophagous.
Alboglossiphonia disjuncta (Moore, 1939) (=Glossiphonia disjuncta = Batracobdella disjuncta) 12 mm.
Very common sAfr. Liquidosomatophagous.
Batracobdelloides tricarinata (Blanchard, 1897) (= Batracobdella tricarinata = Batracobdella nilotica = Batracobdella amnicola) 20 mm.
Very common throughout sAfr. Any water with fish. Haematophagous on fish, especially catfishes (Clariidae).
Oosthuizobdella aspera (Moore, 1939) (= Placobdella aspera) 15 mm (contracted)
Only one record - Kruger National Park. Haematophagous on crocodiles.
Helobdella stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) 13 mm.
Fairly common in e, absent in w. (Brown chitinoid plaque at neck). Liquidosomatophagous on oligochaetes.
Helobdella conifera (Moore, 1933) 14 mm.
Very common in e and n sAfr (often extremely abundant), absent in w parts Liquidosomatophagous.
Marsupiobdella africana Goddard & Malan, 1912 12mm.
Common throughout sAfr with Xenopus spp. Hitch lifts on freshwater crabs. Haematophagous, exclusively on Xenopus.
Placobdelloides multistriata (Johansson, 1909) (= Placobdella multistriata = Placobdella pulchra = Placobdella auroguttata = Placobdella unita). 40 mm.
Very common throughout sAfr. Hitchhikes on large, freshwater hemipterans (waterscorpions and waterbugs) - often found in pools without hosts. Haematophagous on terrapins and crocodiles.
Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi (Johansson, 1909) (= Placobdella jaegerskioeldi) 62 mm.
Restricted to Hippopotamus’ pools. Haematophagous on hippos only.
Salifidae Skinny Leeches
Salifids are thin and without color. They occur in aerated streams feeding on chironomid larvae. Evidence: numerous oval chitnoid 'cocoons' (egg cases) cemented to the undersides of rocks and debris.
Barbronia 22 mm
Some 2 two undescribed species. Both fairly common in se, less so to w, absent in w and n. Macrophagous.
Salifa africana (Moore, 1939) (= Mimobdella africana). 33 mm.
One locality in ne (Lim). Macrophagous.
Salifa perspicax Blanchard, 1897 20 mm.
Common throughout sAfr. Macrophagous.
Hirudinidae Medical Leeches
True "medicinal' leeches. Subsist on vertebrate blood (esp. amphibians). Adults large ( to 100 mm), excellent swimmers, with ornate dorsal color patterns.
Asiaticobdella fenestrata (Moore, 1939) (= Limnatis fenestrata): restricted to but common in North-western part of southern Africa. Haematophagous on mammals. 60 mm.
Hirudo hildebrandti Blanchard, 1897 (= Aliolimnatis hildebrandti Sawyer 1986): common in eastern parts, not present in western parts. Haematophagous on mammals. 35 mm.
Aliolimnatis africana (Blanchard, 1897) (= Limnatis africana): restricted to most northerly parts. Haematophagous on mammals. 40 mm.
Aliolimnatis oligodonta (Johansson, 1913) (=Limnatis oligodonta): common in eastern parts, not present in western parts. Haematophagous on mammals. 58 mm.
Aliolimnatis buntonensis (Meyer, 1951) (= Limnatis buntonensis): very common in eastern parts of southern Africa from KwaZulu-Natal northwards, not present in southern and western parts. Haematophagous on mammals. 85 mm.
Aliolimnatis obscura (Moore, 1939) (= Limnatis obscura): common in western part of southern Africa and from southern parts of Namibia and Botswana northwards. Haematophagous on mammals.
Hirudo michaelseni Augener, 1936 (= Aliolimnatis michaelseni Sawyer 1986): very common throughout southern Africa. Haematophagous on mammals but also on amphibians and fish. Immature leeches also feed on freshwater snails. 65 mm.
Praobdella maculata (Moore, 1939) (= Myxobdella maculata): in eastern parts of southern Africa from KwaZulu-Natal northwards. Not common. Haematophagous in nasal cavities of mammals. 52 mm (contracted).
Praobdella radiata Moore, 1958: in eastern parts of southern Africa from KwaZulu-Natal northwards. Not common. Haematophagous in nasal cavities of mammals. 61 mm.
Freshwater Life adds Helobdella europaea, but that is not listed in Invasive Species of s Africa.
Freshwater Life states that it is from Europe and invasive in New Zealand, but some literature suggests that it is from South America and also invasive in Europe, probably via the Aquarium trade.
Helobdella europaea is probably not listed in Invasive Species because there are no ‘official’ records on GBIF. The only record in SA is from an iNat observation.
I don’t think leeches are very popular to study; they aren’t as charismatic as other organisms so they have probably been ignored since Oosthuizen. We have to catch some of these and send them to the Albany Museum for DNA analysis to put them in the official record.
Unfortunately all I find these days is dozens of Helobdella stagnalis which should definitely be listed in Invasive Species.
An update from the Albany Museum is that they have sequenced Helobdella europaea and one other invasive species, Helobdella octatestisaca, so it should be part of the record soon.
So Helobdella octatestica has a scute like Helobdella stagnalis? Looks like another Aquarium dispersed species?
http://science.peru.edu/acanths/Helobdella_17.pdf
Add it to our inventory, or wait until it is announced?
Wait until it’s announced.
This paper says that there are actually a few scute-bearing lookalikes. So I will be collecting for Albany Museum, for sequencing.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335841740_Broad_geographic_sampling_and_DNA_barcoding_do_not_support_the_presence_of_Helobdella_stagnalis_Linnaeus_1758_Clitellata_Glossiphoniidae_in_North_America
Also missing is Aliolimnatus obscura (Moore 1939) a Namibian Endemic (Nauklauft Mtns)
Can one add images into these comments, as the figures in the Guide vol 5 are very useful, particularly the figure of the eyes. It’s impossible to count annuli or check for jaws unless you are an expert.
The problem is storing the images: one cannot store them here, so they need to be stored elsewhere on the web, or put onto the . web.
The leech identified as Marsupiobdella africana on p272 of Freshwater Life has a scute. Has this photo been misidentified?
I agree: 272.4 looks like Helobdella stagnalis. Also the dorsal colouring (11 pairs of dark green patches in M. afr) is missing, [but then it is not at all visible on any our observations of M. afr]
The 11 pairs of dark green patches must be a mistake in the key. It refers to fig 14.8A in the Guide which is definitely not M. africana but Mesobdella lineata in the caption and in any case that picture does not fit.
@moserw @awheimann please join
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leeches-of-southern-africa/join
Link: reference: Oosthuizen and Siddall 2003 https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/TT-167-02.pdf
Key to Eyes:
A: Hirudinidae Medical Leeches
B-K Glossiphoniidae Flat Leeches
B Theromyzon cooperi
C Oosthuizobdella sp H Oo. aspera
D Alboglossiphonia sp E. Al. disjuncta
F Hemiclepsis quadrata
G Batracobdelloides tricarinata
I Marsupiobdella africana
J Placobdelloides multistriata K P. jaegerskioeldi
Salifidae Skinny Leeches L-N
L Barbronia sp
M Salifa africana N S. perspicax
Helobdella octatestisaca has been recorded in South Africa already so can be added to the list.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/19401736.2010.527965
Furthermore I believe that my Helobdella specimens are probably H octatestisaca based on their close-set triangular eyes
Eyes: One pair, punctiform to triangular, close to each other, and sometimes separated only by a tiny space in median field in III (3rd annulus).
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03DA622AFF8A7B5DFF58F930E01DFCF5
This will be confirmed by sequencing by the Albany Museum. I have a few dozen specimens already.
Which means that none of our H. stagnalis IDs can be confirmed unless one has a clear picture of the eyes. We will have to revert to genus level on all that don't.
Also see
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230881015_Two_New_Species_Of_Helobdella_Blanchard_1896_Hirudinida_Rhynchobdellida_Glossiphoniidae_From_Taiwan_With_A_Checklist_Of_Hirudinea_Fauna_Of_The_Island
Added: as an alien - is that correct?
Correct. It was first described from Taiwan, where it was believed to have been introduced. It might come from Mexico
http://science.peru.edu/acanths/Helobdella_17.pdf
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