This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Madill, Jacqueline, Hovingh, Peter (2007): Freshwater leech (Annelida: Hirudinida) distribution in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and adjacent regions: check-list, new records, new pigmentation forms, and Pleistocene refugia. Zootaxa 1657: 1-21, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.179881
Abstract
The freshwater leeches (Hirudinida) in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador were investigated by examining the literature, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the United States National Museum of Natural History records, and a leech survey. New pigmentation forms are described for Erpobdella punctata (Leidy) and Erpobdella obscura (Verrill). This is the first published record for Haemopis lateromaculata Mathers in Canada. Four species (Glossiphonia elegans (Verrill), Helobdella modesta (Verrill), Erpobdella punctata, and Erpobdella obscura) were found in both Labrador and Newfoundland with Erpobdella obscura common in Labrador and the other three species common in Newfoundland. Seven other species of leeches were less abundant in Newfoundland with 6 of these species very restricted in distribution. The abundance of leech species in Newfoundland and the paucity of leech species in Labrador suggested that the island species were present in a Pleistocene refugium associated with Newfoundland or the Grand Banks. Post-Pleistocene barriers to leech mobility are examined, and possible timing of colonization events is proposed in this model.
Key words: Annelida, Leeches, Hirudinida, Glossiphoniidae, Haemopidae, Hirudinidae, Erpobdellidae, Newfoundland, Labrador, pigmentation patterns, Pleistocene refugia, new record
Madill J, Hovingh P, plazi (2007). Freshwater leech (Annelida: Hirudinida) distribution in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and adjacent regions: check-list, new records, new pigmentation forms, and Pleistocene refugia. Plazi.org taxonomic treatments database. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.179881 accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-06-15.
