Haemopidae
| Haemopidae | ||||||||||||
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Horse leech ( Haemopis sanguisuga ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Haemopidae | ||||||||||||
| Richardson , 1969 |
Haemopidae according to the previous system the name of a family of predatory in freshwater live leeches in the order of Kieferegel . According to more recent studies, the Haemopidae species may have to be divided between the families Hirudinidae and Semiscolecidae and thus placed alongside blood-sucking species.
features
The large, in rest position cylindrically shaped flukes of the family Haemopidae have 5 pairs of inconspicuous eyes in the head region. 15 or 16 of the externally not visible segments have 5 outer rings per segment. Like other jaws, the Haemopidae have three jaws in their mouth, but these are usually much weaker than those of the blood-sucking Hirudinidae . The jaws either have two rows of teeth (distichodont) or no teeth at all. In adaptation to the predatory way of life, the intestinal canal does not have any blind sacs with the exception of two small Postcaeca in the 19th segment, which is why more frequent meals are necessary. The penis of the hermaphrodite animals is always very well developed. The paired sperm conductor bends backwards from the 12th or 11th/12. Segment as a simple loop, with the epididymis on the retrograde segment and the ejaculatory bulb on the previous segment. The vagina has a blind sac and can have a vaginal tube.
Distribution, habitat and way of life
The leeches of the Haemopidae family are common in freshwater in inland waters in both the northern hemisphere and South America . They feed on small animals as predators . The prey is swallowed whole.
The best studied is the horse leech ( Haemopis sanguisuga ), which is widespread in Europe , North Africa and Asia Minor and, contrary to its name, prey on various small animals such as insect larvae and mud tubeworms , but also amphibian larvae .
Life cycle
The hermaphrodites mate with each other, with each partner inserting his penis into the other partner's vagina. A cocoon is deposited around the clitellum of each of the two leeches involved, in which several eggs are laid. The cocoon is stripped off the front end of the mother's rule and placed in moist earth next to a body of water, and the eggs develop into small leeches, which go into the water after hatching.
Systematics
According to the current system, the Haemopidae, a family in the subordination of the Hirudiniformes , comprise two subfamilies with the following genera:
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Haemopinae (northern hemisphere)
- Haemopis (Palearctic)
- Whitmania (Southeast Asia)
- Percymoorensis (North America)
- Semiscolecinae (South America)
More recent molecular genetic studies by Phillips and Siddall on leeches belonging to the blood-sucking Hirudinidae , the predatory Haemopidae, the rural blood-sucking Haemadipsidae , the rural predatory Xerobdellidae and the Central American blood-sucking Semiscolecidae indicate, however, that it is paralysis . The family Haemopidae is therefore to be dissolved and divided into the two families Hirudinidae and Semiscolecidae, whereby the species of the type genus Haemopis are phylogenetically close to those of the type genus Hirudo :
- Hirudinidae (northern clade)
- southern clade
literature
- Laurence R. Richardson (1969): A contribution to the systematics of the hirudinid leeches, with description of new families, genera and species. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 15 (1-2), pp. 97-149, here Haemopidae fam. n. , p. 142 , Budapest.
- Javier Oscoz, David Galicia, Rafael Miranda: Identification Guide of Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Spain. Springer Science & Business Media, Dordrecht 2011. Hirudinidae , p. 56.
- Hasko Nesemann, Eike Neubert: Annelida, Clitellata: Branchiobdellida, Acanthobdellea, Hirudinea. Spectrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg / Berlin 1999. p. 97.
- Heinrich Georg Bronn: Dr. HG Bronn's Classes and Orders of the Thier-Reich: scientifically represented in words and pictures, Volume 2. CF Winter, Amsterdam 1939. P. 391.
- Anna J. Phillips, Mark E. Siddall: Poly-paraphyly of Hirudinidae: many lineages of medicinal leeches. In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. Volume 9, October 2009, p. 246, doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-9-246 , PMID 19811660 , PMC 2768714 (free full text).