User:Mtessler1/sandbox
| Piscicolidae | |
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| Family: | Piscicolidae Johnston, 1865
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Icthyobdellidae | |
Piscicolidae is a family of aquatic leeches in the order Rhynchobdellida (jawless leeches that feed with a proboscis)[1]. This family is often referred to as fish leeches, as most species specialize as fish parasites[1]. Piscicolidae are often found in abundance on their hosts, with most species remaining attached to hosts for long periods of time[1][2].
Host Specificity
[edit]Many Piscicolidae have strong host specificity, with several lineages specialized in elasmobranchs and others on teleost fish[1]. Subfamily classification has mirrored this host specificity and is supported by several morphological trails, but recent phylogenetic studies based on genetic and morphological data reveal all three subfamilies (Piscicolinae, Platybdellinae, and Piscicolinae) form non-monophyletic groups[3][4]. Accordingly, use of these subfamily classifications should be abandoned.
Not all Piscicolidae have strong host specificity. Most species in the subfamily Piscicolinae do not have strong host specificity within teleost fish species[1]. Many of these species are important vectors of haematozoa[1]. There are also a few Piscicolidae species that either do not only feed on fish or exclusively feed on other organisms, such as marine isopods, mysid shrimp, and octopi[1][5][6].
Anatomy
[edit]Many Piscicolidae leeches are triannulate, yet, interestingly, maturing Piscicolidae continue subdividing annuli (unlike most other leeches)[1]. Still, Williams and Burreson[3] found annulation patterns to be consistent enough to use in a morphological matrix for phylogenetic analysis of the family. For Rhynchobdellida leeches, Piscicolidae tend to have short proboscises[1]. This likely relates to their affinity towards parasitizing fish; a fish specializing Glossiphoniidae also shares this trait[1].
Habitats
[edit]Piscicolidae leeches are found in a variety of aquatic habitats. Most species are marine; however, brackish water, estuaries, and freshwater also host members of the family[1]. In marine environments, at least one species was found in abundance at a depth of approximately 600 m[6].
Locomotion
[edit]Despite the aquatic nature of most Piscicolidae, the majority of species do not swim – most move along hard surfaces in a fashion similar to inchworms[1]. Yet, Mysidobdella borealis, a mysid shrimp specialist, is an excellent swimmer, with higher swimming stamina than other leeches[5].
--Mtessler1 (talk) 00:13, 3 December 2013 (UTC)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sawyer, R.T., 1986. Leech biology and behaviour. Clarendon Press and Oxford University Press, UK.
- ^ Utevsky, S.Y., Trontelj, P., 2004. Phylogenetic relationships of fish leeches (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Zool. Scr. 33, 375–385.
- ^ a b Williams, J.I., Burreson, E.M., 2006. Phylogeny of the fish leeches (Oligochaeta, Hirudinida, Piscicolidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes and morphology. Zool. Scr. 35, 627–639.
- ^ Utevsky, S.Y., Utevsky, A.Y., Schiaparelli, S., Trontelj, P., 2007. Molecular phylogeny of pontobdelline leeches and their place in the descent of fish leeches (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae). Zool. Scr. 36, 271–280.
- ^ a b Burreson, E.M., Allen, D.M., 1978. Morphology and biology of Mysidobdella borealis (Johansson) comb. n. (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae), from mysids in the western North Atlantic. J. Parasitol. 64, 1082–1091.
- ^ a b Goffredi, S.K., Morella, N.M., Pulcrano, M.E., 2012. Affiliations between bacteria and marine fish leeches (Piscicolidae), with emphasis on a deep-sea species from Monterey Canyon, CA. Environ. Microbiol. 14, 2429–2444.