Erpobdella monostriata (Lindenfeld & Pietruszynski, 1890)

Darabi-Darestani, Kaveh, Sari, Alireza & Sarafrazi, Alimorad, 2016, Five new records and an annotated checklist of the leeches (Annelida: Hirudinida) of Iran, Zootaxa 4170 (1), pp. 41-70 : 50

Erpobdella monostriata (Lindenfeld & Pietruszynski, 1890)

( Fig. 8 and Plate III 1 A&B)

Material examined. Khezrlou, Chaldoran, Azerbaijan Gharbi, (N 39° 02΄ 48.9˝, E 44° 19΄ 56.1˝), 1906m, ZUTC 6065 . Choupankare , Ajabshir, Azerbaijan Gharbi, (N 37° 31΄ 15.4˝, E 45° 51΄ 14.4 ˝), 1404 m, ZUTC 6067 . Takagaj village , Miandoab, Azerbaijan Gharbi, (N 36° 56΄ 50.3˝, E 46° 27΄ 57.3˝), 1591 m, ZUTC 6069 ( Fig. 1 ).

General distribution and habitats. Distributed in lowlands of eastern Germany and Poland ( Nesemann & Neubert 1999) also reaching European Russia ( Utevsky et al. 2015). Living in shallow streams and springs among aquatic vegetations or underside of stones. A new record for Iran.

Descriptive features and remarks. Small leeches (to 35 mm). Anterior cylindrical and acute but posterior slightly flattened. No pronounced lateral keels. Body surface smooth with no papillae. Genital pores separated by 3.5 or four annuli. Dorsally bright yellowish or brownish. A dark longitudinal stripe in mid-dorsal as discriminative character. Sometimes fade stripe in some specimens like a dark cloud. Ventrally, uni-colored bright yellowish.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of the known leech fauna of Iran. Circles: Localities of present study. Squares: Localities from available literature.

FIGURE 8. Erpobdella monostriata Dorsal view (a) and ventral view (b). M: male genital pore and F: female genital pore.