Erpobdellidae is a
family of
leeches
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented b ...
. It is one of the four families belonging to the
suborder Erpobdelliformes of the proboscisless leeches order,
Arhynchobdellida
Arhynchobdellida, the proboscisless leeches, are a monophyletic order of leeches. They are defined by the lack of the protrusible proboscis that defines their sister taxon, the Rhynchobdellida.Uttam, Suneha, and Seema Langer.Distribution and I ...
.
Their members have abandoned the blood feeding habits of their ancestors and are instead predators of aquatic invertebrates. The family previously contained seven genera, but Siddall (2002) synonymized five genera (''Croatobranchus'', ''Dina'', ''Mooreobdella'', ''Trocheta'' and ''Nephelopsis'') into the genus ''
Erpobdella'' based on morphogenetic analysis, with the remaining genus ''
Motobdella'' possibly a sister group and thus retained. This decision was not accepted by scientific community.
The family currently contains 3 genera ''Erpobdella'', ''Dina'' and ''Motobdella''.
The genus ''
Mimobdella
''Mimobdella'' is a genus of leeches belonging to the family Erpobdellidae.
The species of this genus are found in Japan.
Species
Species:
*'' Mimobdella africana''
*'' Mimobdella buettikoferi''
*''Mimobdella japonica
''Mimobdella'' is a g ...
'' was also sometimes included within Erpobdellidae or
Gastrostomobdellidae but is now accepted to be under the family
Salifidae
Salifidae is a family of annelids belonging to the order Arhynchobdellida
Arhynchobdellida, the proboscisless leeches, are a monophyletic order of leeches. They are defined by the lack of the protrusible proboscis that defines their sister ta ...
.
References
Leeches
{{Annelid-stub