Helobdella stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Kaygorodova, Irina A., 2015, Annotated checklist of the leech species diversity in the Maloe More Strait of Lake Baikal, Russia, ZooKeys 545, pp. 37-52 : 41-42

Taxon classification Animalia Rhynchobdellea Glossiphoniidae

Helobdella stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Hirudo stagnalis : Linnaeus 1758; Hirudo pulligera : Daudin 1800; Glossiphonia perata : Johnson 1816; Erpobdella bioculata : Lamark 1818; Clepsine bioculata : Savigny 1822; Glossobdella pulligera : Blainville 1827; Clepsine stagnalis : Fillipi 1837; Glossiphonia bioculata : Maquin-Tandon 1846; Glossiphonia circulans : Maquin-Tandon 1846; Clepsine modesta : Verrill 1972; Glossiphonia modesta : Vaillant 1890; Glossiphonia stagnalis : Blanchard 1894; Glossiphonia (Helobdella) stagnalis : Moore 1922; Bakedebdella gibbosa : Sciacchitiano 1939.

Geographic distribution.

Cosmopolitan.

Maloe More: Tutay Bay, Zagli Bay, Mukhor Bay, Shide Bay, Lake Khankhoy, Lake Surkhaytor-Nur, Lake Zunduk, Codoviy Bay.

Ecological characteristics.

This species is considered one of the most common freshwater leeches in the world. Within Baikal, Helobdella stagnalis inhabits shallow bays and salinas. This Helobdella species cannot swim; it crawls on aquatic plants and other objects, using its suckers as organs of attachment. Most suck the haemolymph of freshwater invertebrates such as oligochaetes, larvae of insects, and freshwater snails ( Kozhova and Izmest’eva 1998). Freshwater jawless leeches are remarkable for their parental care. They produce a membranous bag or cocoon to hold the eggs, which are then carried on the ventral surface. The young attach to the parent’s belly after hatching and are thus ferried to their first meal.