Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 8, 2026

Macrobdella diplotertia

Macrobdella diplotertia, the Ozark highlands leech, is a species of leech found in the southern United States.

Last revised
Jul 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
242 w
Citations
6
Source
Macrobdella diplotertia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Clade: Sedentaria
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Hirudinea
Order: Arhynchobdellida
Family: Macrobdellidae
Genus: Macrobdella
Species:
M. diplotertia
Binomial name
Macrobdella diplotertia
Meyer, 1975

Macrobdella diplotertia, the Ozark highlands leech, is a species of leech found in the southern United States.12

M. diplotertia was described in 1975 from Missouri, and has since been recorded from Kansas and Arkansas.34 It is believed to be the sister taxon to Macrobdella decora.5 A diagnostic characteristic is the arrangement of the copulatory gland pores. The species can grow up to 66 millimetres (2.6 in) long.4

References

References

  1. "Macrobdella diplotertia Meyer 1975 - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  2. Connior, M.B.; Trauth, S.E. (2010). "Seasonal Activity of the Ozark Highlands Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia (Annelida: Hirudinea) in North-central Arkansas". Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science. 64.
  3. Poly, William J. (29 Mar 2018). "Range Extension for the Elusive New England Medicinal Leech, Macrobdella sestertia Whitman, 1886 (Hirudinida: Macrobdellidae), in South Carolina, U.S.A., with Notes on Morphology, Coloration, and Biology" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 4. 64 (12).
  4. Meyer, Marvin C. (July 1975). "A New Leech, Macrobdella diplotertia sp. n. (Hirudinea: Hirudinidae), from Missouri" (PDF). Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington. 42 (2).
  5. Phillips, Anna J.; Salas-Montiel, Ricardo; Kvist, Sebastian; Oceguera-Figueroa, Alejandro (2019-08-15). "Phylogenetic Position and Description of a New Species of Medicinal Leech from the Eastern United States". Journal of Parasitology. 105 (4): 587–597. doi:10.1645/18-119. ISSN 0022-3395. PMID 31414949.