Research Institute of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea.
Department of Life Sciences and Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea.
Korean J Parasitol. 2022 Jun;60(3):213-215. doi: 10.3347/kjp.2022.60.3.213. Epub 2022 Jun 30.
Turtle leeches have not been recorded in Korea, although they occur in geographically adjacent countries including China and Japan. This study describes a turtle leech, Ozobranchus jantseanus (Clitellata: Ozobranchidae), found from Reeve's turtle (Mauremys reevesii) in Korea. Of the 143 Reeve's turtles collected from the freshwater reservoir in Jinju City, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea, 95 unidentified leeches were found in 8 (5.6%) individuals. The leeches had 22 somites with 11 pairs of externally exposed branchiae, body-sized posterior suckers, and spines on the dorsal surface. We identified these leeches as Ozobranchus jantseanus Oka, 1912 (Clitellata: Ozobranchidae). This species of turtle leeches found in Korea may fill the gap in the biodiversity of East Asian annulus.
韩国尚未记录到龟蛭,但在中国和日本等地理位置相邻的国家都有发现。本研究描述了一种龟蛭,即 Ozobranchus jantseanus(Clitellata:Ozobranchidae),它来自韩国的丽龟(Mauremys reevesii)。在韩国晋州市的淡水水库中采集的 143 只丽龟中,有 8 只(5.6%)个体中发现了 95 只未识别的蛭。这些蛭有 22 个体节,有 11 对外部暴露的鳃,身体大小的后吸盘和背部的刺。我们将这些蛭鉴定为 Ozobranchus jantseanus Oka,1912(Clitellata:Ozobranchidae)。在韩国发现的这种龟蛭可能填补了东亚环节动物生物多样性的空白。