Bolotov, I. N.; Klass, A. L.; Kondakov, A. V.; Vikhrev, I. V.; Bespalaya, Y. V.; Gofarov, M. Y.; Filippov, B. Y.; Bogan, A. E.; Lopes-Lima, M.; Lunn, Z.; Chan, N.; Aksenova, O. V.; Dvoryankin, G. A.; Chapurina, Y. E.; Kim, S. K.; Kolosova, Y. S.; Konopleva, E. S.; Lee, J. H.; Makhrov, A. A.; Palatov, D. M.; Sayenko, E. M.; Spitsyn, V. M.; Sokolova, S. E.; Tomilova, A. A.; Win, T.; Zubrii, N. A.; Vinarski, M. V. (2019). Freshwater mussels house a diverse mussel-associated leech assemblage. Scientific Reports. 9(1): 1-22, supplements.

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10.1038/s41598-019-52688-3 [view]

Bolotov, I. N.; Klass, A. L.; Kondakov, A. V.; Vikhrev, I. V.; Bespalaya, Y. V.; Gofarov, M. Y.; Filippov, B. Y.; Bogan, A. E.; Lopes-Lima, M.; Lunn, Z.; Chan, N.; Aksenova, O. V.; Dvoryankin, G. A.; Chapurina, Y. E.; Kim, S. K.; Kolosova, Y. S.; Konopleva, E. S.; Lee, J. H.; Makhrov, A. A.; Palatov, D. M.; Sayenko, E. M.; Spitsyn, V. M.; Sokolova, S. E.; Tomilova, A. A.; Win, T.; Zubrii, N. A.; Vinarski, M. V.

2019

9(1): 1-22, supplements

Publication

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-52688-3

Available for editors  

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. [Hemiclepsis myanmariana sp. nov., Batracobdelloides conchophylus sp. nov., B. hlaingbweensis sp. nov., B. indochinensis sp. nov., and B. yaukthwa sp. nov. In East Asia, three mussel-associated leech species were discovered: Hemiclepsis kasmiana comb. rev. (Russian Far East, Korea, Japan, and also China), H. khankiana sp. nov. (Lake Khanka Basin, Russian Far East and China), and Batracobdelloides koreanus sp. nov. (South Korea). The mussel-associated leeches collected in East Africa (Albert Nile Basin, Uganda) belong to a single species largely corresponding to the nominal taxon Batracobdelloides tricarinatus. Additionally, two free-living Hemiclepsis species new to science, i.e. Hemiclepsis. schrencki sp. nov. and Hemiclepsis tumniniana sp. nov., recorded from East Asia during this study are described here]

Africa
Asia

Systematics, Taxonomy

Annelida

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