Redescription and Molecular Characterization of <I>Placobdella nuchalis</I> Sawyer and Shelley, 1976 (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae)

Abstract

Placobdella nuchalis Sawyer and Shelley, 1976 was originally described based on specimens from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) and a stream near Ashepoo River in South Carolina, USA, and Merchant&#39;s Millpond and Nine Mile Creek in North Carolina, USA. Leeches collected during August 2014 and August 2015 from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) and Merchant&#39;s Millpond (paratype locality) facilitated a redescription and molecular characterization of Placobdella nuchalis. Two additional specimens of Placobdella nuchaliswere collected on 10 August 2014 from Nassawango Creek, Maryland, USA, representing a state distribution record. Placobdella nuchalis has a brownish green dorsum with a dark medial line interrupted three times by yellow-cream spots, a pair of paralateral rows of unpigmented papillae with adjacent dark green papillae, and a distinct discoid head. Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (CO-I) sequence data from a specimen of Placobdella nuchalis from Four Hole Swamp (type locality) revealed a 94.5% similarity to a specimen collected from Merchant&#39;s Millpond (paratype locality) and 14.2% to 17.5% differences among other species of Placobdella.