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Placobdella costata
Pond turtle leech
Schildkrötenegel
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Subspecies
No
subspecies are recognized.
Original description
Fr.
Müller, 1846
Synonyms
Clepsine costata Fr. Müller, 1846
Haementeria costata (Fr. Müller, 1846)
Placobdella costata (Fr. Müller, 1846)
Identification
Distribution
In Germany a
very rare species. Only about a dozen localities
are known. Probably extinct in
Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg. In
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a single find from the
Kummerower See in 1989 (Jueg 1999).
Biology
This species shows an interesting example of
brood care: the juvenile worms are carried by
the female on its ventral side. The worms feed
on blood from vertebrates with a strong
preference for the European pond turtle Emys
orbicularis. The species prefers the littoral of
clean stagnant waters with rich vegetation.
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This page has
been updated on July 25, 2012
This site is online since May 31, 2005
Copyright © by Nikola-Michael Prpic-Schäper. All
rights reserved.
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