The Common North American Turtle Leech, Placobdella parasitica, was reported in 2023 using the Northwestern Pond Turtle, Actinemys (Emys) marmorata, as a host in the Lower Rogue River, southwestern Oregon, USA. Molecular analysis and haplotype networks based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence revealed that this introduced population has very low haplotype diversity and is likely the result of a single introduction of a gravid adult, an adult brooding eggs or hatchlings, or a small number of related individuals. While we determined that the precise source population was not represented in our sampling, there was strong similarity between the representatives from Oregon and those from near the Arkansas-Missouri border. Molecular evidence also supports this as a recent introduction, likely via human activity, and potential pathways of introduction are considered. Our results agreed with a previous study of morphological and molecular data of P. parasitica samples from throughout its native range in North America that found the species to be widely distributed, morphologically conservative, and molecularly variable. Using COI sequence data with Bayesian Inference, we evaluated species cohesiveness using species delimitation analyses (ABGD, mPTP, bPTP, and GMYC) that revealed 13 species entities that were clustered by geographic region. Identifying the source population and possible invasion pathways of this introduced population and assessing the dispersal capabilities of P. parasitica could slow and prevent further range expansion in the western USA. Introduced P. parasitica has not been recognized as a threat to the health of the Northwestern Pond Turtle or the Rogue River ecosystem so its presence has not been systematically monitored, but any introduced parasite is concerning given that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed this turtle species for Threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.

Species of Placobdella have been the frequent subject of revisionary and alpha-taxonomy in the past 2 decades. Recent molecular analyses introduced uncertainty about the taxonomic status of several broadly distributed and morphologically variable Placobdella species, including Placobdella picta (Verrill 1872), compounded by incomplete original descriptions reliant upon characters that are no longer unique in comparison to modern congeners. We assessed specimens of P. picta to identify any distinct phylogenetic entities that align with our morphological observations of the type series and novel topotype specimens. Using mitochondrial COI and ND1 and nuclear 18S rDNA with Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference, we evaluated species boundaries using species delimitation analyses (ABGD, mPTP, bPTP, and GMYC) and molecular phylogenetics. Our analyses revealed 2 species entities equivalent to 2 non-reciprocal monophyletic clades. Morphological examinations revealed the lectotype was determined to be Placobdella ornata (Verrill 1872), and paralectotypes are other leech species or were poorly preserved and unidentifiable. Due to the problems with the type series, P. picta is now considered a junior synonym of P. ornata. Based on our results, we describe 2 new species: Placobdella unimaculata n. sp. from Connecticut and Placobdella desseri n. sp. from Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

Placobdella ali Hughes & Siddall, 2007 is a species of North American leech that commonly parasitizes freshwater turtles. Previous distribution records have confirmed its presence across southern New England, New York, and New Jersey, USA. We examined recently collected specimens, museum records, and iNaturalist observations to update the distribution of P. ali . We report the species presence in eight additional states, more than quadrupling its previously published distribution, and document the first report of P. ali utilizing Pseudemys concinna LeConte, 1830 as a host.

Journal Article Community Action: Planning for Specimen Management in Funding Proposals Get access Andrew Bentley, Andrew Bentley Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States E-mail: abentley@ku.edu https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Barbara Thiers, Barbara Thiers New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8613-7133 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar William E Moser, William E Moser National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, Maryland, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5265-9347 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Gregory J Watkins-Colwell, Gregory J Watkins-Colwell Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven, Connecticut, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7789-9806 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Breda M Zimkus, Breda M Zimkus Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8973-526X Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Anna K Monfils, Anna K Monfils Department of Biology at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3553-6430 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Nico M Franz, Nico M Franz School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7089-7018 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar John M Bates, John M Bates Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5809-5941 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Kyria Boundy-Mills, Kyria Boundy-Mills Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9272-5903 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Michael W Lomas, Michael W Lomas National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1209-3753 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar ... Show more Elizabeth R Ellwood, Elizabeth R Ellwood University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1602-1917 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Sinlan Poo, Sinlan Poo Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7767-8173 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Dori L Contreras, Dori L Contreras Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, Texas, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6820-7364 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Michael S Webster, Michael S Webster Cornell Lab of Ornithology, at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7585-4578 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Gil Nelson, Gil Nelson Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-4445 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Jyotsna L Pandey Jyotsna L Pandey American Institute of Biological Sciences, Herndon, Virginia, United States https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8173-0424 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, biae032, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae032 Published: 04 June 2024 Article history Received: 27 March 2024 Accepted: 28 March 2024 Published: 04 June 2024

is conservation concern for the Northwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) throughout its range and non-native parasitic leeches using A. marmorata as a host could impose an additional threat. Freshwater turtles native to eastern and central North America are common hosts of parasitic leeches and associated blood pathogens, although the health impacts on turtles are not well-studied. The Common North American Turtle Leech (Placobdella parasitica) is widespread east of the Rocky Mountains where it parasitizes a wide range of turtle species. Occurrences of P. parasitica west of the Rocky Mountains are presumed to be from translocations of their turtle hosts from east of this mountain range. Herein, we report P. parasitica using A. marmorata as a host in the Lower Rogue River, southwestern Oregon, USA. Leeches appear to be well-established in this stretch of river. Leech prevalence on turtles was significantly higher for adults than for juveniles but was not significantly different between adult male and female turtles. We did not detect a significant difference in body condition between adult turtles with or without leeches, although body condition was slightly lower in turtles with leeches. The health impacts of leech introductions on the only native turtle in southwestern Oregon warrants further investigation to determine if P. parasitica represents an emerging threat by reducing fitness or serving as a vector to spread pathogens within populations of A. marmorata.

Alboglossiphonia pallida (Verrill, 1872) comb. nov. is resurrected and redescribed based on morphological and molecular data from specimens of the type locality (New Haven County, Connecticut, USA) that demonstrate it is distinct from North American Alboglossiphonia heteroclita, European Alboglossiphonia heteroclita, and Alboglossiphonia papillosa. Alboglossiphonia pallida is characterized by having dark chroma-tophores on the dorsal surface arranged lateral to patrilaterally and medially as a thin line or interrupted thin line along with three pairs of eye spots (with the first pair closest together), six pairs of crop ceca, and a united gonopore. Additional sampling of specimens of the genus Alboglossiphonia is needed to understand its phylogeny especially as many species have not been collected since their description.

Microbial communities are found throughout the biosphere, from human guts to glaciers, from soil to activated sludge. Understanding the statistical properties of such diverse communities can pave the way to elucidate the common mechanisms ...Multiple ecological forces act together to shape the composition of microbial communities. Phyloecology approaches—which combine phylogenetic relationships between species with community ecology—have the potential to disentangle such forces but are often ...

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Placodella michiganensis (Sawyer, 1972) was originally described from free-living individuals collected from Mill Creek, St. Joseph County, Michigan, USA. The acquisition of contemporary specimens from its type locality has facilitated redescription of P michiganensis. Placobdella michiganensis does not have a confusing taxonomic history like many other members of the genus Placobdella as it has only been collected two other times since its description. Placodella michiganensis is distinguished from its congeners by its five rows of whitish single-tipped papillae, genital and pre-anal patches, five pre-anal papillae, and absence of a dark dorsal-medial line. Placobdella michiganensis is a morphologically distinct species with a 16.0% to 22.0% difference in cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data among congeners.

Australapatemon spp. are cosmopolitan trematodes that infect freshwater snails, aquatic leeches, and birds. Despite their broad geographic distribution, relatively little is known about interactions between Australapatemon spp. and their leech hosts, particularly under experimental conditions and in natural settings. We used experimental exposures to determine how Australapatemon burti cercariae dosage (number administered to leech hosts, Erpobdella microstoma) affected infection success (fraction to encyst as metacercariae), infection abundance, host survival, and host size over the 100 days following exposure. Interestingly, infection success was strongly density-dependent, such that there were no differences in metacercariae load even among hosts exposed to a 30-fold difference in cercariae. This relationship suggests that local processes (e.g., resource availability, interference competition, or host defenses) may play a strong role in parasite transmission. Our results also indicated that metacercariae did not become evident until ~4 weeks post exposure, with average load climbing until approximately 13 weeks. There was no evidence of metacercariae death or clearance over the census period. Parasite exposure had no detectable effects on leech size or survival, even with nearly 1,000 cercariae. Complementary surveys of leeches in California revealed that 11 of 14 ponds supported infection by A. burti (based on morphology and molecular sequencing), with an average prevalence of 32% and similar metacercariae intensity as in our experimental exposures. The extended development time and extreme density dependence of A. burti has implications for studying naturally occurring host populations, for which detected infections may represent only a fraction of cercariae to which animals have been exposed. Future investigation of these underlying mechanisms would be benefical in understanding host-parasite relationships.

Abstract Placobdella parasitica (Say, 1824) is one of the most commonly encountered turtle leeches in North America. Molecular analysis of individuals of P. parasitica representing various populations throughout its range in North America using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, revealed the presence of nine distinct groups: (1) P. parasitica sensu stricto containing members, including the neotype specimen, occurring broadly throughout the central United States westward from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and throughout southern Ontario, Canada, and the upper midwestern United States as far east as New York State; (2) West Virginia; (3) Mississippi/Alabama; (4) Northeast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont; (5) New England, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; (6) North Carolina/West Virginia; (7) South Carolina; (8) Tennessee; and (9) Florida. Both neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood analyses recovered an east-west split along the Appalachian Mountains with groups 1–3 clustering together and groups 4–9 clustering separately, with the exception of group 8 (Tennessee) that placed with the eastern groups. Group 1 includes specimens from a broad geographic distribution, yet with relatively low genetic variation, a pattern observed in other glossiphoniid species in North America. The groups with members east of the Appalachian Mountains are more tightly clustered by locality. This leech species is known to parasitize several turtle species, including Chrysemys picta, the painted turtle that originated in the central Gulf Coast region and dispersed northward representing a recolonization after Pleistocene glaciation. The neighbor-joining tree and pairwise distance data could suggest that P. parasitica has a similar phylogeographic pattern and dispersal history with its turtle hosts. In view of the morphological uniformity among the various groups, P. parasitica is provisionally considered to be a widely distributed, molecularly variable species.

With more than 700 described species, leeches include morphological, physiological, and behavioral diversity and occur in terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems. Leeches inhabit a number of extreme environments, including extremes in temperature, moisture, salinity, pressure, light, and pollution. In some cases, leeches in extreme environments have specialized morphological, physiological, or behavioral adaptations to survive these conditions, yet unique adaptations are not apparent in some species. Leeches that inhabit inhospitable habitats occur in more than one branch or family of leech phylogeny suggesting that there have been independent invasions of environments with extreme conditions. Herein, we review examples of leeches that live in extreme conditions and the exceptional biology that has contributed to leeches being the most extreme annelids.

Placobdella pediculataHemingway, 1908 was originally described from individuals that were attached to Aplodinotus grunniens (freshwater drum) in Lake Pepin, Minnesota, USA. Apparently, no type material was deposited. The acquisition of contemporary specimens from its type host in the type locality facilitated redescription of P. pediculata. Placobdella pediculata is different from its congeners in that its caudal sucker is extended from the body by a pedicel (peduncle), bears digitate processes near the rim of the caudal sucker, a smooth body surface, and its anal placement (few annuli anteriad of the caudal sucker). Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data from P. pediculata revealed differences of 13.8% to 17.4% among congeners. Placobdella pediculata is a distinct species.

The Bronx River in Bronx, New York, US spans an area of significant human development and has been subject to historic and ongoing industrial contamination. We evaluated the health of freeranging native common snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina) and nonnative invasive red-eared sliders ( Trachemys scripta) in a segment of the Bronx River between May and July 2012. In 18 snapping turtles and nine sliders, complete physical examinations were performed, ectoparasites collected, and blood was analyzed for contaminants (mercury, thallium, cadmium, arsenic, lead, selenium, oxychlordane, alpha-chlordane, dieldrin, DDD, DDE, polychlorinated biphenyls). Complete blood counts and the presence of hemoparasites were determined in 16 snapping turtles and nine sliders. Swabs of the choana and cloaca were screened for ranavirus, adenovirus, herpesvirus, and Mycoplasma spp. by PCR in 39 snapping turtles and 28 sliders. Both turtle species exhibited bioaccumulation of various environmental contaminants, particularly organochlorines and polychlorinated biphenyls. Molecular screening revealed a unique herpesvirus in each species. A Mycoplasma sp. previously isolated from emydid turtles was detected in red-eared sliders while a unique Mycoplasma sp. was identified in common snapping turtles. Ranaviruses and adenoviruses were not detected. Our study established a baseline health assessment to which future data can be compared. Moreover, it served to expand the knowledge and patterns of health markers, environmental contaminants, and microorganisms of freeranging chelonians.

William E. Moser, receiving the 2016 Anniversary Award of the Helminthological Society of Washington from Dennis J. Richardson (right), chairman of the Awards Committee, in recognition of many years of distinguished service to the Helminthological Society of Washington and noteworthy contributions to the discipline of helminthology. As a scientist, Bill has established himself as one of the world’s authorities on leeches, with an emphasis of the glossiphoniid leeches of North America. Bill has published more than 40 papers on the Hirudinida in refereed scientific journals, including 11 in Comparative Parasitology. Additionally, Mr. Moser has provided valuable service to our discipline in his role as museum specialist and data manager and more recently as acting collections manager in Invertebrate Zoology at the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Moser has continually held a position on the executive committee of the Helminthological Society of Washington from 1999 through 2015. Positions held include executive committee member-at-large, vice president, and 3 terms as president (2003–2005). Bill has been consistently steadfast in his support and leadership of the society, helping to forge the society that we have today.

Although there is a large literature base reporting Placobdella ornata utilizing numerous turtle host species, those reports are all based on misidentifications of the leech resulting from taxonomic confusion in the literature and are thus invalid. In the original description of Clepsine phalera (junior synonym of P. ornata), it was suggested that the stinkpot turtle, Sternotherus odoratus, is a host of P. ornata. Nevertheless, no host has been definitively documented for P. ornata. When introduced to S. odoratus in the laboratory, individuals of P. ornata readily attached and fed. Duration of feeding was short, less than 24 hr. Individuals of P. ornata did not feed on various amphibians, fish, or a human.

Confusion regarding the identification of Placobdella hollensis (Whitman, 1892) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae) has led to an unclear understanding of the distribution of the species. Two specimens of P. hollensis were collected from Merchants Millpond State Park, Gates County, North Carolina, U.S.A., representing a new geographic distribution record. Specimens were confirmed as P. hollensis by morphological and molecular study. Specimens of P. hollensis from North Carolina, had accessory eyes, 2 thin paramedial dark lines, and 3 pairs of pre-anal papillae. Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data revealed a 99.0 to 99.7% similarity to specimens of P. hollensis collected from its type locality (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.). From confirmed specimens of P. hollensis, this report supports the assertion that P. hollensis has an Atlantic coastal distribution.

Helobdella octatestisaca Lai and Chang, 2009, was originally described from Taiwan where it is believed to have been introduced. It has subsequently been reported from throughout much of Mexico. Helobdella octatestisaca was collected from a small pond in Walker County, Texas, U.S.A., representing the first report of this species from the United States. Helobdella octatestisaca occurred primarily associated with red-eared slider turtles, Trachemys scripta, and common mud turtles, Kinosternon subrubrum. Individuals of H. octatestisaca were frequently found within clusters of juveniles of the common turtle leech, Placobdella parasitica, and were often attached to individuals of P. parasitica. It was hypothesized that H. octatestisaca is utilizing P. parasitica as a source of food and that Helobdella spp. preferentially associate with turtles, thereby gaining enhanced access to prey items.

Placobdella nuchalis Sawyer and Shelley, 1976 was originally described based on specimens from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) and a stream near Ashepoo River in South Carolina, USA, and Merchant's Millpond and Nine Mile Creek in North Carolina, USA. Leeches collected during August 2014 and August 2015 from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) and Merchant's Millpond (paratype locality) facilitated a redescription and molecular characterization of Placobdella nuchalis. Two additional specimens of Placobdella nuchaliswere collected on 10 August 2014 from Nassawango Creek, Maryland, USA, representing a state distribution record. Placobdella nuchalis has a brownish green dorsum with a dark medial line interrupted three times by yellow-cream spots, a pair of paralateral rows of unpigmented papillae with adjacent dark green papillae, and a distinct discoid head. Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CO-I) sequence data from a specimen of Placobdella nuchalis from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) revealed a 94.5% similarity to a specimen collected from Merchant's Millpond (paratype locality) and 14.2% to 17.5% differences among other species of Placobdella.