Erpobdellidae

Erpobdella punctata

Mark E. Siddall & E. M. Burreson *

           .____ Mooreobdella bucera
        .__|  ._____ Mooreobdella melanostoma
        |  \__|_____ Erpobdella punctata
________|     ._____ Dina dubia
        |   ._|_____ Nephelopsis obscura
        \___| .___ Dina japonica
            \_| ._____ Erpobdella octoculata
              \_|____ Erpobdella testacea

Table of Contents

Characteristics of the Group
Sources of Information on the Internet
References

Characteristics of the Erpodelliformes

• more than one testisac in each somite

• male bursa bilobed (reversal)
• ovisacs not more than 2 somites long (reversal)
• more than one pair of eyespots per somite

Sources of Information on the Internet

• Life History Evolution

• Picture Gallery of Leeches

• Classification of Leeches

• (Discovery Channel Program) - NICE!

• Joel's Houdini the Leech, Riverdale School, Portland, OR

• Effect of ale, garlic, and soured cream on the appetite of leeches

• Leech Neurobiology Newsletter

• Building a better leech

• KAIST BioResource LAB
  and information on clotting mechanisms

References

• Sawyer, R. T. 1986. Leech biology and behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 10065 pp.

• Siddall, M. E., and Burreson, E. M. 1995. Phylogeny of the Euhirudinea: Independent evolution of blood feeding by leeches? Canadian Journal of Zoology, 73: 1048-1064

About This Page

Page copyright © 1995 Mark E. Siddall
Last modified 30 April, 1996