Placobdelloides sirikanchanae sp. nov., a new species of glossiphoniid leech and a parasite of turtles from lower southern Thailand (Hirudinea, Rhynchobdellida)

By

Trivalairat, Poramad
Chiangkul, Krittiya
Purivirojkul, Watchariya

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

882

Pages

1--24

Subjects

Clitellata , Cyclemys , Glossiphoniidae , Hirudinea , leaf turtle , Songkhla

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.882.35229

 

Abstract

AbstractA new species of glossiphoniid leech,Placobdelloides sirikanchanaesp. nov., is reported in the Asian leaf turtle (Cyclemys dentata) and the dark-bellied leaf turtle (C. enigmatica) from Songkhla Province, southern Thailand. The examination of morphological characters revealed that this new species is similar toP. siamensis(Oka, 1917), a common turtle leech species found in Thailand.Placobdelloides sirikanchanaesp. nov.demonstrates distinct morphological characters, with an elongated, narrow body, 13–17 well-developed knob papillae on each annulus, dark brown to greenish dorsal color with a crimson median line, the absence of a scarlet dot, different male and female gonopore distributions, a rough posterior sucker with a random pit distribution, and 104–115 eggs per clutch. The phylogenetic relationships of COI-ND1 genes were clarified and shown to be distinct from those ofP. siamensis. Additionally, habitat preferences tended toward low oxygen conditions such as puddles or water patches on rubber plantations.