11/14/2022 0 Comments Leech mouthAnd lots of other critters will make a meal out of leeches: fish, turtles, shore birds, herons, etc. Some leech species eat other tissues on their prey, some are carrion feeders and some swallow small invertebrates whole. A large blood meal can last a leech for many months. When the leech has filled its crop with blood it releases its suckers and falls off. Large volumes of blood, up to several times the weight of the leech, can be stored in a crop (a widening of the alimentary canal) before digestion begins. Razor sharp blades or beaks in the mouth cut a slot through which blood flows aided by anticoagulants and anesthetics to dull sensations at the wound. Blood-sucking leeches are ambush predators that wait for larger animals to swim by, or move close in the case of terrestrial species, then they grab on to their prey. Watch the video below of a leech "inch-worming" along my hand:įood for most species of leeches is the blood of other animals they are "hematophagous". Leeches get around by swimming in an undulating fashion, like a snake on its side, or by attaching and re-attaching their suckers in an inch-worm fashion. The resulting fertilized eggs are kept in a mucous cocoon which may be kept attached to the underside of the body or deposited in the environment. Two individuals will align themselves and inject each other with sperm. They are hermaphrodites, possessing both sex organs in each individual, but they must cross-fertilize with another of their species to produce viable offspring. The majority of leeches live in fresh water habitats, but some inhabit salt water environments and some can live in moist terrestrial environments. In North America there are thought to be about 63 species, 24 of which can be found here in Manitoba. There are likely more than 700 species of leeches worldwide. The classification of leeches is as follows.
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