Placobdelloides siamensis
Placobdelloides siamensis is a species of blood-feeding jawless leech in the family Glossiphoniidae.[1][2] It is commonly known as the Siam shield leech and is a prevalent ectoparasite on Malayemys turtles but has a range of Geoemydidae hosts. In high numbers it can cause severe anaemia and malnutrition which can lead to the death of its host.[3]
Placobdelloides siamensis | |
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Placobdelloides siamensis: left, dorsal view; right: ventral view. | |
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Binomial name | |
Placobdelloides siamensis (Oka, 1917) Sawyer, 1986 | |
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Taxonomy
The species was first described as Hemiclepsis siamensis by Oka in 1917[1] then transferred by Sawyer to his new genus Placobdelloides in 1986.[2] In 2018, it was redescribed from specimens collected in Thailand.[4]
Hosts
The type host is the Black Marsh Turtle, Siebenrockiella crassicollis. Other hosts include the Southeast Asian Box Turtle, Cuora amboinensis, the Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, Heosemys annandalii, the Mekong Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys subtrijuga, the Malayan Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys macrocephala, the Khorat Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys khoratensis, Oldham's lead turtle Cyclemys oldhamii and the giant Asian pond turtle Heosemys grandis.[3]
References
- Oka, A. 1917. Zoological Results of a Tour in the Far East, pt. III. Hirudinea. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, VI, pp. 157-176, pl. VII.
- Sawyer, R.T. 1986: Leech biology and behaviour. Volume II. Feeding biology, ecology, and systematics. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
- Trivalairat, Poramad; Chiangkul, Krittiya; Purivirojkul, Watchariya (2020-10-26). "Parasitism of Placobdelloides siamensis (Oka, 1917) (Glossiphoniidae: Hirudinea) in Snail-eating Turtles, Malayemys spp., and the effects of host and aquatic environmental factors". Biodiversity Data Journal. 8 (e57237). doi:10.3897/BDJ.8.e57237. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
this study also showed two new hosts, including Cyclemys oldhamii and Heosemys grandis
- Chiangkul, Krittiya; Trivalairat, Poramad; Purivirojkul, Watchariya (2018). "Redescription of the Siamese shield leech Placobdelloides siamensis with new host species and geographic range". Parasite. 25: 56. doi:10.1051/parasite/2018056. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 6254108. PMID 30474597.