| Haementeria ghilianii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Subclass: | Hirudinea |
| Order: | Rhynchobdellida |
| Family: | Glossiphoniidae |
| Genus: | Haementeria |
| Species: | H. ghilianii |
| Binomial name | |
| Haementeria ghilianii de Filippi, 1849 | |
Haementeria ghilianii, the giant Amazon leech, is one of the world's largest species of leeches.[1] It can grow to 450 mm (17.7 in) in length and 100 mm (3.9 in) in width. As adults, these leeches are a greyish-brown colour, as opposed to juveniles, which do not have a uniform colour, but rather, a noncontinuous stripe of colour, and patched colouring. They live from the Guianas to the Amazon. The leech produces the anticoagulant protease hementin from its salivary glands.
It was thought to be extinct from the 1890s until the 1970s, when specimens were rediscovered in French Guiana by Dr Roy T. Sawyer. One of these leeches, dubbed Grandma Moses, founded a successful breeding colony at UC Berkeley.[2]
References
- ↑ "Invertebrate Zoology | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History".
- ↑ Steven Ryan (1 May 2015). "Amazon Giant Leech (Haementeria ghilianii)". University of Northern British Columbia blogs. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018. Article with photograph.
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