Freshwater mussels house a diverse mussel-associated leech assemblage.
Sci Rep
; 9(1): 16449, 2019 11 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31712612
ABSTRACT
Freshwater mussels (Unionida) are one of the most imperiled animal groups worldwide, revealing the fastest rates of extinction. Habitat degradation, river pollution and climate change are the primary causes of global decline. However, biological threats for freshwater mussels are still poorly known. Here, we describe a diverse ecological group of leeches (Hirudinea Glossiphoniidae) inhabiting the mantle cavity of freshwater mussels. So far, examples of mussel-associated leech species are recorded from East Asia, Southeast Asia, India and Nepal, Africa, and North America. This group comprises a dozen glossiphoniid species with a hidden life style inside the mantle cavity of their hosts largely overlooked by researchers. We show that the association with freshwater mussels evolved independently in three leech clades, i.e. Batracobdelloides, Hemiclepsis, and Placobdella, at least since the Miocene. Seven mussel-associated leech species and two additional free-living taxa are described here as new to science.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bivalvia
/
Biodiversity
/
Fresh Water
/
Leeches
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Rep
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
RUSSIA