Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758

Schenková, Jana, Sychra, Jan, Košel, Vladimír, Kubová, Nela & Horecký, Jakub, 2009, Freshwater leeches (Annelida: Clitellata: Hirudinida) of the Czech Republic (Central Europe): check-list, new records, and remarks on species distributions, Zootaxa 2227, pp. 32-52 : 43

Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758

Records: Č erná jezera – Dyje River dead arm, Břeclav [7267], 48°43'09"N / 16°54'22"E, lgt. JP, det. JSy (2008); Kačení Louka Pool, Moravičany [6267], lgt. MB, det. MB (1998, 2003), lgt. MŠ, det. MŠ (2008); Kutnar Pond, Rakvice [7166], 48°50'11"N / 16°47'34"E, lgt. JSy, det. JSy (2006); Milotický Pond, Milotice [7068], 48°57'47"N / 17°09'15"E, lgt. JSc, JSy, G Č, det. JSc (2008); Pastvisko Pool, Lednice [7166], 48°48'30"N / 16°47'53"E, ( Sukop 2004), lgt. JSc, NK, det. JSc (2005), lgt. JSc, MŠ, NK, JSy, det. JSc (2006), lgt. JSc, JSy, MS, det. JSc (2007), lgt. JSc, JSy, MS, det. JSc (2008); pond, Ostrovec [6550], lgt. MŠ, det. MŠ (2008); pond, Varvažov [6550], lgt. MŠ, det. MŠ (2008); Sekulská Morava (Morava River dead arm), Lanžhot [7367], 48°37'39"N / 16°57'12"E, lgt. JSc, JSy, NK, det. JSc (2008); Zámecký Pond, Lednice [7166], 48°48'46"N / 16°48'32"E, lgt. JSy, det. JSy (2006), lgt. JSc, JSy, MS, det. JSc (2008) ( Figure 3 ).

Habitats: Hirudo medicinalis was found in shallow stagnant lowland water bodies with abundant vegetation, stable water levels, and presence of amphibian and mammal hosts for juveniles and adults, respectively. All localities were in rather temperate climatic conditions.

Status: Hirudo medicinalis is a critically endangered species in the Czech Republic ( Schenková & Košel 2005) due to intensive agri- and aquaculture in the country, which has resulted in extensive destruction of natural wetlands by drainage and flood-control management. Further loss of critical habitat for this species has resulted from intensive fishery and recreation in the few remaining unaltered wetlands, ponds, and small pools in the country. Based on authors’ monitoring experiences, the intensive mud removal by heavy machinery in the Czech Republic has had destructive impact on H. medicinalis populations. Isolated pools that historically supported populations of medicinal leeches have failed to yield specimens after mud removal operations have been conducted. Recent distributional records for this species in the Czech Republic have been limited to only a few localities in southern and middle Moravia and southern Bohemia.

Figures

FIGURE 3. The distribution of selected leech species (Annelida, Clitellata, Hirudinida: the families Hirudinidae and Erpobdellidae) in the Czech Republic recorded during the years 1998 through 2008, based upon published and unpublished records, and specimens collected during this study.