|
Hirudiniformes |
| 1 | Mid-body segments comprised of 8-12 annuli | 2* |
| Mid-body segments comprised of five annuli | 4* |
| 2 | Mid-body segments comprised of eight annuli:
Gonopores separated by 14.5 annuli. | Diestecostoma octoannulata Moore, 1946 |
| Mid-body segments comprised of 10-12 annuli | 3* |
| 3 | Mid-body segments comprised of 12 annuli:
Gonopores separated by 19 annuli. | Diestecostoma magna Moore, 1945 |
| Mid-body segments comprised 10 annuli:
Gonopores separated by 19.5-21 annuli. A related form, D. trujillensis Ringuelet 1976e, lives in Peru; gonopores separated by 30 annuli. | Diestecostoma mexicana (Baird, 1869) = Hygrobdella pelaezi (Caballero, 1940) |
| 4 | Jaws and teeth present | 6* |
| |
| No jaws or teeth | 5* |
| 5 | No eyes: | Cylicobdella costaricae (Plotnikow, 1905) |
| Eyes five pairs | Blanchardiella decemoculata (Dequal, 1917) |
| NOTE: These two or related terrestrial predators have been reported from Panama and Costa Rica (Ringuelet 1948a, 1981). See key to South American species of Cylicobdella and Blanchardiella |
| 6 | Jaws with two rows of blunt teeth (Distichodontia): | Haemopis cabelleroi (Richardson, 1971) |
| Jaws with one row of sharp teeth (Monostichodontia) | 7* |
| 7 | Gonopores separated by five annuli, at XI and XII b5/b6 | 8* |
| Gonopores separated by 3.5 annuli, at XI/XII and XIIb5:
One pair testisacs per segment; two pairs of about equal crop caeca per segment; reported from Panama and Puerto Rico. See key to South American species of Oxyptychus. | Oxyptychus antellarum (Moore, 1901) |
| 8 | External copulatory gland pores on venter, located about 10-11 annuli posterior to male gonopores:
One pair testisacs per segment; two pairs of about equal crop caeca per segment; in Mexico known only from north, at Nuevo Leon (Caballero 1952; Sawyer 1972). | Macrobdella decora (Say, 1824) |
| No copulatory gland pores
Multiple testisacs per segment | 9* |
| 9 | 15 five-annulate segments; XXV, three-annulate: | Pintobdella cajali (Caballero, 1934) |
| NOTE: One primary pair crop caeca per segment; ejaculatory duct between epididymus and prostate tortuous and relatively long |
| 16 five-annulate segments; XXV, four-annulate: | Limnobdella mexicana Blanchard, 1893 = Potamobdella oaxacensis (Caballero, 1932) |
| NOTE: Two pairs of equal crop caeca per segment; ejaculatory duct simple and short. Four closely allied forms are inadequately distinguished from L mexicana: L tehuacanea (Jimenez, 1864), L olivacea (Caballero, 1933) and L profundisulcata (Cabllero, 1933) from Mexico and Limnobdella sp Ringuelet, 1981, from Costa Rica For aids to identification see: Caballero 1930-1941; Ringuelet 1944b; Soos 1968a, 1969a; Richardson 1969c |
|
Erpobdelliformes |
| 1 | Ejaculatory duct with a preatrial loop extending anteriorly to ganglion XI | 2* |
| Ejaculatory duct without a preatrial loop extending to ganglion XI:
Gonopores separated by three annuli; as far south as Costa Rica (Ringuelet 1981) | Mooreobdella ochotherenai (Caballero, 1932) |
| 2 | Gonopores separated by two annuli: | Erpobdella punctata (Leidy, 1870) = Nephelis mexicana (Duges, 1876) |
| Gonopores separated by three annuli: | Erpobdella triannulata Moore, 1908 |
| The inadequately described Semiscolecides hondurensis Augener, 1930 is probably an erpobdellid: gonopores separated by three annuli; eyes four pairs (two labial and two buccal) |
|
Glossiphoniidae |
| 1 | Caudal sucker very large, a thin disc, wider than maximum body width:
Tegument smooth; gonopores separated by two annuli; mouth central; permanent parasite of fish, in mouth cavity | Actinobdella magnidisca (Moore, 1938) |
| Caudal sucker moderate to small, usually not greater than 0.5 maximum body width | 2* |
| 2 | Gonopores separated by one annulus
Crop caeca 1-6 pairs; salivary glands diffuse; liquidosomatophagous | 3* |
| Gonopores separated by two annuli
Crop caeca seven pairs; salivary glands compact; haematophagous | 7* |
| 3 | Brown plaque (= scute) in mid-dorsal neck region | 4* |
| No plaque in neck region | 5* |
| 4 | Scute typically between annuli 12/13:
Crop caeca appearing in most individuals as one elongated, posterior pair (after a meal may have five more pairs, inconspicuous and transient, anterior to the principal pair); annulation: IV, 1; V, 2. | Helobdella stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Scute typically between annuli 14/15 (variable):
Crop caeca with six simple but permanent pairs; annulation: IV, 2 (sometimes 1, especially ventrally); V, 3 (sometimes 2, especially ventrally); only one record, from Tlalpan, Mexico. | Helobdella adiastola Ringuelet, 1972b |
| 5 | Body elongated; caudal sucker terminal:
Crop caeca consisting only of posterior pair; no tubercles; Mexican individuals of this species with very inconspicuous eyes (Ringuelet 1981a). | Gloiobdella elongata (Castle, 1900), |
| Body leaf-shaped, lanceolate; caudal sucker ventral
Crop caeca five or six pairs. | 6* |
| 6 | Annulus a2 of mid-body segments subdivided dorsally:
Caudal sucker relatively large; five pairs crop caeca; uniform grey colour, only interrupted in mid-dorsal region by a stripe of darker grey; tubercles on a2 | Helobdella conchata (Caballero, 1941) |
| Annulus a2 of mid-body segments not subdivided:
A complex of variable forms; caudal sucker relatively small; pigment pattern consisting of metameric white dots, or longitudinal pale stripes; for infraspecific detail see: Ringuelet 1943 - 1945, 1972d; Sawyer 1972a; Klemm 1981. In Mexico includes var moorei Caballero 1933 | Helobdella triserialis (E Blanchard, 1849) = Oculobdella socimulcensis (Caballero 1931) |
| 7 | One pair of mycetomes
Eyes compound of two pairs, superficially appearing as one pair; egg sacs deposited onto substrate; leeches often on turtles; also see key to Nearctic Placobdella. | 8* |
| Two pairs of mycetomes:
Eyes one pair, not compound; egg sacs attached directly to venter; also see key to South American Haementeria | Haementeria officinalis Filippi, 1849 |
| 8 | Dorsum rough, with numerous papillae and tubercles, particularly at mid-dorsal line: | Placobdella multilineata Moore, 1953 |
| Dorsum smooth, few papillae or tubercles, and especially absent from mid-dorsal line: | Placobdella moorei Autrum, 1936 = P mexicana (Moore, 1898) (preoccupied) |
|
Piscicolidae |
| 1 | Pulsatile vesicles present:
Eyes two pairs; mid-body segments seven-annulate; inadequately described but sufficient for rediscovery; known from Yucatan and Guatamala, where it lives in gill-chamber of fish, Rhamdia guatemalensis (Moore 1936a, 1938b) | Cystobranchus moorei, |
| Pulsatile vesicles absent
Eyes one pair; mid-body segments 12-14 annulate | 2* |
| 2 | Gonopores separated by two primary annuli; 11 pairs nephridia:
From Yucatan cave on Rhamdia guatemalensis; originally reported as M. platensis, it appears closer to M. lugubris (Moore 1938b) or the following species (Ringuelet, 1981) | Myzobdella lugubris Leidy, 1851 |
| Gonopores separated by one primary annulus; 14 pairs of nephridia (determined histologically):
Known from Lake Patzcuaro, Mexico | Myzobdella patzcuarensis (Caballero, 1940) |