Placobdelloides siamensis explained

Placobdelloides siamensis is a species of blood-feeding jawless leech in the family Glossiphoniidae.^{[1] [2]} It is commonly known as the Siam shield leech and is a prevalent ectoparasite on Malayemys turtles but has a range of Geoemydidae hosts. In high numbers it can cause severe anaemia and malnutrition which can lead to the death of its host.^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was first described as Hemiclepsis siamensis by Oka in 1917^[1] then transferred by Sawyer to his new genus Placobdelloides in 1986.^[2] In 2018, it was redescribed from specimens collected in Thailand.^[4]

Hosts

The type host is the Black Marsh Turtle, Siebenrockiella crassicollis. Other hosts include the Southeast Asian Box Turtle, Cuora amboinensis, the Yellow-headed Temple Turtle, Heosemys annandalii, the Mekong Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys subtrijuga, the Malayan Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys macrocephala, the Khorat Snail-eating Turtle Malayemys khoratensis, Oldham's lead turtle Cyclemys oldhamii and the giant Asian pond turtle Heosemys grandis.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Oka, A. 1917. Zoological Results of a Tour in the Far East, pt. III. Hirudinea. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, VI, pp. 157-176, pl. VII.
2. Sawyer, R.T. 1986: Leech biology and behaviour. Volume II. Feeding biology, ecology, and systematics. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
3. Parasitism of Placobdelloides siamensis (Oka, 1917) (Glossiphoniidae: Hirudinea) in Snail-eating Turtles, Malayemys spp., and the effects of host and aquatic environmental factors . Biodiversity Data Journal . 2020-10-26 . Trivalairat . Poramad . Chiangkul . Krittiya . Purivirojkul . Watchariya . 8 . e57237 . 10.3897/BDJ.8.e57237 . 2020-10-30 . this study also showed two new hosts, including Cyclemys oldhamii and Heosemys grandis . free .
4. Chiangkul. Krittiya. Trivalairat. Poramad. Purivirojkul. Watchariya. Redescription of the Siamese shield leech Placobdelloides siamensis with new host species and geographic range. Parasite. 25. 2018. 56. 1776-1042. 10.1051/parasite/2018056. 30474597. 6254108.