LeechesBy Reuben Bryan

AnnelidsRelated to worms- invertibratesCan’t asexually reproduce, unlike most

members of their phylumSegmented with “brains” which are just

clumped up nerves called Ganglia. Essentially they have 32 brains, one for each segment

Subclass Hirudinea

2 TypesWith/ without jaws - Arhynchobdellida and

RhynchobdellidaProboscis in jawless, sometimes teeth in

jawedMost eat decomposing materialJawed leeches also eat worms snake style

Anatomy2 suckers, one on each end, thinner end is

the mouthLight sensitive cells all over their body, some

have as many as 16 eyes, some have noneBlood up to 5 times their body weight can be

stored in their crop, where it is digested by bacteria

HabitatTerrestrial, Marine, FreshwaterTerrestrial leeches include the predatory

leeches and some bloodsucking ones, as well as the benign

Marine leeches have proboscis and feed on fish

Freshwater are the ones that we are familiar with – include the jawed parasites, proboscis, and benign ones

MovementIn water: dolphin styleOn land: inchworm style, or vermiform

HOW DO THEY FIND ME!?!On land: highly sensitive to scent, movement,

vibrations, ect.In water: shark sense (Blood sense, ect.),

vibrations, movement ect.

Feeding habits - PredatorySnakelike feeding habits – swallow prey

whole They eat earthworms, larvae, snails, and

other invertebratesLack teeth

KinaBalu Giant Red Leech– Feeds on worms, located only on Mount Kinabalu, grows up to 30 cm

Feeding habits – Parasitic - JawedSuction on and inject an anesthetic to numb

the area, then bite with their three jaws and suck out the blood

They feed off of any animal they latch onto, although some of them feed only on fish, or only on amphibians or reptiles or mammals or birds

Three jaws, each with approximately 100 teeth

Chainstrap Leech

Feeding habits – Parasitic - JawlessThey have a proboscis, which they insert into

the host to suck bloodMainly feed off of fishMost common in the ocean

Feeding habits - BenignFeed off of dead or decaying materialCannot bite

Properties of salivaAnticoagulant: prevents blood from clotting

resulting in:Excessive bleeding for up to 5 hours after a

biteBlood inside a leech not going bad, and is

thus able to sustain the leech for up to a year, though they usually feed twice a year

Digestion Digestive tract: Blood is stored in the crop, then goes

through the intestines where the nutrients is absorbedSymbiotic relationship to the bacteria Areomonas

Hydrophila – Bacteria secretes an antiboitic the prevents any other bacteria from growing inside the leech, causing the blood to putrefy slower. Also secretes enzymes that play a major role in the leeches digestion

Because they are cold blooded, or ectotherms, before feeding, leeches hang out in cold places in the water, while afterwards the leeches hang out in the warm places

Medicinal usesUsed to save limbs that would otherwise have

been lost to clotting and, thus, gangreneIn Europe leeches saved the ear of a boy that

had been bitten off by a dog

RemovalDO NOT BURN/ SALT OFF: doing so causes

the leech not only to disengage, but to regurgitate the contents of its stomach back into the wound, which is bad

Safe way: break suction with fingernail, causing leech to disengage, flick away

DangersNot much: leeches carry parasites

sometimes, but they cannot survive inside humans and die

Only danger: If the leech fed on someone with a fluid related disease such as HIV/AIDS or the like around 20 hours earlier

Too many leeches could remove too much blood

SizeLargest leech was 18 inches with a six inch

proboscis: named Grandma Moses, species: Giant Amazon Leech

Smallest leeches are only around 5mm

Grandma Moses

HistoryThe word “Leech” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon

word “Loece”, meaning “To Heal”Medieval doctors called themselves LeechesUsed to draw blood from hard to reach places, such

as the gums, nose, or fingersBecame extremely popular in the 19th century; in

1833 alone 14,500,000 leeches were imported to France

The medicinal Leech “Hirudo Medicinals” is now endangered as a result

Leeches were first used around 1000 B.C., most likely in India

More HistoryIn 1799, soldiers marching in Egypt from the Sinai

Peninsula to Syria drank any water that they could find, and the tiny leeches in the water attatched themselves to the insides of their throats, causing many to die of blood loss or closed off airways from the swollen leeches

Barbers got their red stripped poles from leeches, which they used to do surgery on their patients. The bloody cloths were then hung on the poles

In 1985, microsurgeons in a Boston hospital used leeches to save the ear of a 5 year old boy that had been bitten off by a dog

Fun FactsLeeches can bite through a hippo’s hide, while some

firearms cannotThe nervous system of a Leech is very similar to a human There are almost 700 species of leech, although there are

more than double that number expectedLeeches lay their eggs in a cocoon, and the amazon leech

keeps them on its bellyLeeches Drink up to five times its body weightJawless leeches cannot swim, despite being located in the

oceanLeeches make wonderful pets, and are extremely low

maintenance

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