Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Ozobranchus jantseanus (Clitellata: Ozobranchidae) from Reeve's Turtle, Mauremys reevesii: New Annelid Fauna in Korea

  • Koo, Kyo Soung (Research Institute of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University) ;
  • Yun, Kayoung (Department of Life Sciences and Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University) ;
  • Jang, Yikweon (Department of Life Sciences and Division of EcoScience, Ewha Womans University)
  • Received : 2022.02.05
  • Accepted : 2022.06.02
  • Published : 2022.06.30
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Abstract

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.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We thank the members of the Animal Behavior Lab at Ewha Womans University for their assistance in this study, especially Yoon-Ju Kim. This work was supported by Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, grant number (KEITI 2021002270001).

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