Cylicobdellidae

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Cylicobdellidae
Systematics
Class : Belt worms (Clitellata)
Subclass : Leeches (Hirudinea)
Subclass : Bristle flukes (Euhirudinea)
Order : Trunkless leeches (Arhynchobdellida)
Subordination : Pine rule (Hirudiniformes)
Family : Cylicobdellidae
Scientific name
Cylicobdellidae
Ringuelet , 1972

Cylicobdellidae is the name of a family of leeches that are believed to be exclusively predatory on land in the subordination of the jaw rule with three recognized species in two genera that are common in Central America and South America . They combine features of the jaw and throat fluke and are therefore considered the basal group of the trunk-less fluke .

features

The leeches of the Cylicobdellidae family have a cylindrical body with a uniform body width, which is reminiscent of the shape of earthworms and is uniformly colored - vivid red in the species of Cylicobdella Grube and dark gray in Blanchardiella fahrmanni . The front suction cup formed by the first five segments is weak and not suitable for fixed suction, the rear suction cup is small and a continuation of the body axis. The clitellum is not raised in the adult animal either, but is recognizable by its dark color. Sensitive papillae with gland cells are attached to the skin.

Unlike the basic blueprint of Kieferegel the Cylicobdellidae penis and vagina are completely absent. Like the roller gels , they have forward-facing, horned paired male atria with coiled sperm conductors that curve backwards and then forwards towards the atria before they lead downwards laterally. In contrast to the rolling leeches the Cylicobdellidae per a single pair Hodensäcke have 9 to 12 segments, similar to the Plattegel . The female genitals essentially consist of a pair of tubular egg sacs, as is the case with gullet leeches and trunk leeches .

The leeches of the genus Blanchardiella Weber, 1913 - according to Ringuelet, monotypical with the species Blanchardiellafuhrmanni - have rudimentary jaws with stilettos and 3 to 9 pairs of eyes, while the leeches of the genus Cylicobdella - according to Ringuelet only with the two valid species Cylicobdella joseensis and Cylicobdella coccinea - instead of jaws, they only have three muscular groins in their throats and are eyeless. The intestinal canal of the Cylicobdellidae does not have any blind sacs or postcaeca in adaptation to a predatory way of life.

habitat

All species of the family Cylicobdellidae are land-dwellers who live on soils of grasslands ( páramos ) or forests.

Life cycle and diet

Little is known about the biology of the Cylicobdellidae, which like all leeches are hermaphrodites . The absence of the penis and vagina suggests that mating takes place via pseudospermatophores, as with the throat leeches. The lack of a functional front suction cup, jaws and intestinal blind sacs suggest that these leeches only feed on predatory food.

Distribution of the three species

The three species of the family Cylicobdellidae are common in Central America and South America:

Systematics

The Argentine zoologist Raúl Adolfo Ringuelet described the Cylicobdellidae in 1972 as a new family within the superfamily Erpobdelloidea ( Schlundegel ). The name of the type genus Cylicobdella pit 1871 is "Kelch-Egel" (from greek κύλιξ KYLIX "cup" and Greek βδέλλα bdélla " leeches "; not to be confused with the similarly written genus Cyclobdella Weyenbergh 1879 "Circle Egel" according κύκλος kyklos "Circle").

Molecular genetic studies by Borda et al. (2008) showed that the Cylicobdellidae as well which also predatory and terrestrial Semiscolecidae with pine leeches are more closely related than with the throat leeches and should therefore be put in the subordination Hirudiniformes (Kieferegel).

literature

  • Raúl Adolfo Ringuelet (1972): Cylicobdellidae, nueva familia de hirudíneos erpobdelloídeos. Physis Buenos Aires 31 (83), pp. 337-344.
  • Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Bernald Pacheco-Chaves (2012): Registros de sanguijuelas de Costa Rica y clave para la identificación de las especies con redescripción de Cylicobdella costaricae. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 83, pp. 946-957.
  • Roy T. Sawyer: Leech Biology and Behavior. Clarendon Press. Oxford 1986. Cylicobdella, Blanchardiella, Lumbricobdella pp. 679f.
  • Mark E. Siddall, Alexa Bely, Elizabeth Borda: Hirudinida. In: G. Rouse, F. Pleijel (Eds.): Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Annelida. Science Publishers, Enfield (New Hampshire) 2006, pp. 393-429.
  • Elizabeth Borda, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Mark E. Siddall (2008): On the classification, evolution and biogeography of terrestrial haemadipsoid leeches (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida: Hirudiniformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46 (1), pp. 142-154.

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