Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758

Hechtel, Fred O. P. & Sawyer, Roy T., 2002, Toward a taxonomic revision of the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758 (Hirudinea: Hirudinidae): re-description of Hirudo troctina Johnson, 1816 from North Africa, Journal of Natural History 36 (11), pp. 1269-1289 : 1273

Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758

Hirudo medicinalis Ray, 1710: 3 ; Linnaeus, 1758: 649; Moquin-Tandon, 1846: 327, pls vii–xi. Sanguisuga medicinalis Savigny, 1822: 114 ; Moquin-Tandon, 1827: 114, pl. v, gure 2. Sanguisuga o cinalis Savigny, 1822: 330.

Hirudo o cinalis Derheims, 1825: 9, 11.

Material examined. Specimens of H. medicinalis were collected as part of another study from a pond south of Edirne, Turkey, at diOEerent times of the year during 1997–2000. Most dissections were made on specimens collected from February to April, inclusively. Eight specimens were dissected: 43.3, 54.0, 61.0, 74.3, 90.0, 117.0, 122.0 and 167.0 mm. Some specimens were bred in the laboratory from the same stock for more controlled evaluation of developmental changes of taxonomic characters.

Distribution. The original range of H. medicinalis was from western and southern Europe to the Ural Mountains ( Sawyer, 1986). Today its distribution is much contracted to the point that it is recognized as a threatened or endangered species in most countries of western Europe ( Sawyer, 1981).