Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Piscicolidae
Sign in to saveThe Piscicolidae are a family of jawless leeches in the order Rhynchobdellida that are parasitic on fish. They occur in both freshwater and seawater, have cylindrical bodies, and typically have a large, bell-shaped, anterior sucker with which they cling to their host. Some of the leeches in this family have external gills, outgrowths of the body wall projecting laterally, the only group of leeches to exchange gases in this way.
Species
fish leeches
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumAnnelida
- ClassClitellata
- OrderRhynchobdellida
- FamilyPiscicolidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 234
- With media
- 23
- Family
- Piscicolidae
- Collections
- YPM, LACM, CAS, CMN, NMV, AUM
- Recorded in
- United States, Senegal, Canada, Australia, Bahamas
~5 min read
Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Ecology
- Genera
- References
The Piscicolidae are a family of jawless leeches in the order Rhynchobdellida that are parasitic on fish. They occur in both freshwater and seawater, have cylindrical bodies, and typically have a large, bell-shaped, anterior sucker with which they cling to their host. Some of the leeches in this family have external gills, outgrowths of the body wall projecting laterally, the only group of leeches to exchange gases in this way.
Worldwide, around 60 genera and 100 species of leeches are in this family, all parasitic on the blood of marine, estuarine, and freshwater fishes. These leeches are less common in the tropics, and more abundant in temperate and polar waters.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Piscicolidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.