''Helobdella robusta'' is a

leech 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 bodie ...

of the family ''

Glossiphoniidae Glossiphoniidae are a family of freshwater proboscis-bearing leeches. These leeches are generally flattened, and have a poorly defined anterior sucker. Most suck the blood of freshwater vertebrates like amphibians, crocodilians and aquatic tu ...

''. Its genome has been sequenced by the

Joint Genome Institute The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), first located in Walnut Creek then Berkeley, California, was created in 1997 to unite the expertise and resources in genome mapping, DNA sequencing, technology development, and i ...

, and its early development has been studied extensively. ''Helobdella'' leeches called "''H. robusta''" in literature may not all be from the same species, though they are closely related. At least two species originally termed ''H. robusta'' are present at the same locality, the Sacramento River at the Sacramento Fairgrounds. Another closely related leech is now called ''Helobdella sp. (Austin)''.Kuo, D and Weisblat, DA (2011). "Intermediate filament genes as differentiation markers in the leech Helobdella". ''Development Genes and Evolution'' 221:225=240

References

Leeches Animals described in 1992 {{annelid-stub