Haemopis lateromaculata Mathers 1963

Madill, Jacqueline & Hovingh, Peter, 2007, Freshwater leech (Annelida: Hirudinida) distribution in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and adjacent regions: check-list, new records, new pigmentation forms, and Pleistocene refugia, Zootaxa 1657, pp. 1-21 : 9

Haemopis lateromaculata Mathers 1963

Synonym: Percymoorensis lateromaculata ( Mathers 1963)

General distribution: Nearctic ( Figures 2 D, 3C, Table 2 ).

Newfoundland: Museum specimens (identified by JM): CMNA 1982–0654: Patrick Cove (Placentia Bay); CMNA 1985–0378: Point Lance at St. Mary’s Bay. Both records are on the Avalon Peninsula. Previously unreported for Canada, these records are the first outside of Iowa and Minnesota ( Mathers 1963).

Notes on the species. The unusual conditions under which Haemopis lateromaculata was found follows: On November 15, 1981, Cecelia McGrath in Patrick Cove noticed large, black worms heading across her lawn. R. Morris, Agriculture Canada, described the animals as “ 5–7 cm long, olive dorsally with small, black irregular flecks,…ventrally black, sucker large, and light, yellow, longitudinal stripes.” On November 8, 1985, D.G. Walsch found another H. lateromaculata in a freshwater well in Point Lance.

All species of Haemopidae are amphibious, i.e., they can swim and crawl in aquatic environments, and when conditions are right, they can travel overland. The skin of leeches is moist and absorbent, and needs wet conditions such as dew-drenched surroundings, or rainfall to avoid desiccation. In both records, H. lateromaculata was collected in the late fall. These Haemopis most likely were looking for suitable winter quarters just as Moore (1923) described for another bloodsucker species, Macrobdella decora . Ms. McGrath claimed that these animals had never been near her property previously and must have traveled a fair distance overland because their original freshwater habitat was nowhere in sight.

Dorsally, Haemopis lateromaculata resembles the most common species of horse-leech ( Haemopis marmorata (Say)) since its dorsum is dark and mottled. However, the two lateral yellow stripes, and the uniformly plain ventrum are diagnostic of living H. lateromaculata . Preserved specimens can also be identified by dissection and microscope examination. The male and female gonopores are 5 annuli apart, and in the furrows between the annuli. According to Mathers (1963) and Hovingh (pers. observation 2006), H. lateromaculata can be distinguished from H. marmorata by comparing the relative size, shape, and orientation of internal organs. For example, H. lateromaculata has a U-shaped male penis sheath ( Mathers 1963) and H. marmorata has a longer J-shaped penis sheath ( Klemm 1985).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Photographs of selected Newfoundland and Labrador leeches. D was collected by Cecelia McGrath in 1982. A, Dorsal view of Glossiphonia elegans (Verrill), site 17; B, Dorsal view of Helobdella modesta (Verrill), site 12; C, Dorsal view of Theromyzon sp., site 6; D, Lateral view of Haemopis lateromaculata Mathers, showing the plain ventrum separated from the speckled dorsum by a lighter pattern on the side, CMNA 1982 – 0654; E, Dorsal view of Haemopis marmorata (Say), site 12; F, Closeup of anal protrusion of Haemopis marmorata, Site 12; G, Erpobdella punctata (Leidy) (normal pigmentation), site 7; H, Erpobdella obscura (Verrill) [normal pigmentation], site 21. Scale bars are in cm unless otherwise indicated.