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5 February 2021 Parasitism of the Two-Toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means Garden) by the Macrobdellid Leech Macrobdella ditetra Moore
Benjamin S. Stegenga, Alec Jarboe, Dirk J. Stevenson, Elizabeth Borda
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Abstract

During the course of surveys for freshwater amphibians/reptiles in the Coastal Plain of southeastern Georgia and northern Florida, we documented parasitism of the Amphiuma means (Two-toed Amphiuma) by the leech Macrobdella ditetra (Family Macrobdellidae). We observed this leech on Two-toed Amphiumas at 4 different wetland sites, with 1–3 individual M. ditetra present on 6 of 16 (37.5%) Two-toed Amphiumas captured via aquatic trapping. Leeches were not found on Siren lacertina (Greater Siren; n = 10), a second large, eel-like salamander inhabiting some of the same wetlands. We did not document Philobdella floridana, a second macrobdellid leech species often found syntopically with M. ditetra, feeding on the Two-toed Amphiuma.

Benjamin S. Stegenga, Alec Jarboe, Dirk J. Stevenson, and Elizabeth Borda "Parasitism of the Two-Toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means Garden) by the Macrobdellid Leech Macrobdella ditetra Moore," Southeastern Naturalist 20(1), N1-N6, (5 February 2021). https://doi.org/10.1656/058.020.0108
Published: 5 February 2021
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