Torix (genus)
''Torix'' is a genus of Rhynchobdellida, Rhynchobdellid leeches in the family Glossiphoniidae, found in Eastern Asia and Japan. Japanese brown frog, ''Rana japonica'', the Japanese brown frog, is the main host of ''T. tagoi.'' ''Rickettsia'' bacterial infection Two members of the genus, ''T. tagoi'' and ''T. tukubana'', show high percentages of ''Rickettsia'' infection in the wild; 96% and 83% respectively, according to a 2003 study. Eggs of ''T. tagoi'' were found to all contain the bacteria, indicating the bacteria is almost always passed on to the next generation (vertical transmission). It was found that infected leeches grew far larger than those uninfected with the bacteria. Another paper concluded that the ''Rickettsia'' that acted as endosymbionts in the leeches represented a separate clade of ''Rickettsia'', named the ''torix'' clade. As ''T. tagoi'' feeds on the blood of amphibians such as frogs and newts, it is possible that those amphibians were the route of horizon ...
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