Hirudo

For the taxonomic genus incorporating birds such as robins, see Hirundo.
Hirudo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Clitellata
Order: Arhynchobdellida
Family: Hirudinidae
Genus: Hirudo
Linnaeus, 1758

Hirudo is a genus of leeches of the family Hirudinidae. It was described by Linnaeus in 1758.[1]

There are two well-accepted species within the genus:[2]

Three other species, previously synonymized with Hirudo medicinalis, were described in 2005 and are gaining acceptance:[2][3]

Distribution

Hirudo medicinalis: Britain and southern Norway to the southern Urals, probably as far as the Altai Mountains (the deciduous arboreal zone)[4]
Hirudo verbana: Switzerland and Italy to Turkey and Uzbekistan (the Mediterranean and sub-boreal steppe zone)[4]
Hirudo orientalis: Transcaucasian countries, Iran, and Central Asia (mountainous areas in the sub-boreal eremial zone)[4]
Hirudo troctina: North-western Africa and Spain (Mediterranean zone)[4]
Hirudo nipponia: East Asia, including Far East district in Russian, Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan[5]

H. verbana is further divided into non-overlapping Eastern and Western phylogroups.[6]

Medical Use

While H. medicinalis has long been used in hirudology, and is approved by the US FDA as a prescription medical device, a 2007 study employing genetic analysis found that the species being marketed as H. medicinalis, possibly for decades, was the recently distinguished H. verbana.[7]

Conservation Status

A 2010 study of data gathered four species proposed an IUCN status of Near Threatened for H. medicinal is, H. verbana, and H. orientalis, and a status of Data Deficient for Hirudo troctina.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "ITIS standard report: Hirudo (Linnaeus, 1758)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 Trontelj, P; Utevsky, SY (2005). "Celebrity with a neglected taxonomy: molecular systematics of the medicinal leech (genus Hirudo)". Mol Phylogenet Evol. 34 (3): 616–624. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.012.
  3. ↑ DeSalle, R.; Egan, M. G.; Siddall, M. (2005). "The unholy trinity: taxonomy, species delimitation and DNA barcoding". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 360 (1462): 1905–1916. doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1722. ISSN 0962-8436.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Utevsky, Serge; Zagmajster, Maja; Atemasov, Andrei; Zinenko, Oleksandr; Utevska, Olga; Utevsky, Andrei; Trontelj, Peter (2010). "Distribution and status of medicinal leeches (genusHirudo) in the Western Palaearctic: anthropogenic, ecological, or historical effects?". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20 (2): 198–210. doi:10.1002/aqc.1071. ISSN 1052-7613.
  5. ↑ "Hirudo nipponia – Clitellates". BiotaTaiwanica Citellates. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Trontelj, Peter; Utevsky, Serge Y. (2012). "Phylogeny and phylogeography of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo): Fast dispersal and shallow genetic structure". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63 (2): 475–485. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.022. ISSN 1055-7903.
  7. ↑ Siddall, ME; Trontelj, P; Utevsky, SY; Nkamany, M; Macdonald, KS (2007). "Diverse molecular data demonstrate that commercially available medicinal leeches are not Hirudo medicinalis". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History) 274 (1617): 1481–1487. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0248. PMC 2176162. PMID 17426015.
External identifiers for Hirudo
Encyclopedia of Life 52318
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