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31 December 2024 Can different species of medicinal leeches (Hirudo spp.) interbreed?
Laima Petrauskienė, Olga Utevska, Serge Utevsky
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Abstract

Since the 18th century, the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis has been thought to comprise a single species with several different color morphs, but recently some of these color morphs have been assigned to separate species based on morphology, geographical distribution, and molecular sequence data. This research was aimed at testing the ability of three of these species, H. medicinalis, Hirudo verbana, and Hirudo orientalis, to interbreed. We found that in the laboratory, all three species were able to mate with each other and produce hybrid offspring. This suggests that the reproductive isolation is not strong among these species of the genus Hirudo. However, fewer offspring were produced from interspecific crosses compared with intraspecific crosses. This decrease of fecundity (and in some cases, offspring viability) indicates some degree of reproductive isolation between H. medicinalis, H. verbana, and H. orientalis.

Laima Petrauskienė, Olga Utevska, and Serge Utevsky "Can different species of medicinal leeches (Hirudo spp.) interbreed?," Invertebrate Biology 128(4), 324-331, (31 December 2024). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7410.2009.00180.x
Published: 31 December 2024
KEYWORDS
hybrids
reproductive isolation
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