Americobdella valdiviana (Americobdella valdiviana)

Large Terrestrial Leach (Americobdella valdiviana), Oncol, Chile. A number of large terrestrial leeches exist around the world. This one (Americobdella valdiviana) is endemic to the humid temperate rainforests of southern Chile. Several color morphs exist – including a solid yellow morph. People often think that all leeches are parasites, feeding off of the blood of other animals. In fact, quite a few leeches are not parasitic. In our case here, this species eats earthworms and grows to an impressive 6 to 10 inches long. We often find these animals below rocks at the edge of streams – they seem to like living on wet substrate. All of the wildlife in Southern Chile faces real threats. Hydroelectric dams have been implemented with more proposed. These dams flood the temperate rainforest in the valleys behind them. Much of the temperate rainforests of the region have been removed and replaced with silviculture – usually growing exotic varieties of pine with rapid growth rates. The pine trees, as well as non-native eucalyptus, change the chemistry of streams and drastically change the nature of the leaf litter. Few native species are able to move into these stands of non-native trees. What remains of the temperate forests of the region are cut up into mostly isolated forest fragments. As the distance of forest fragments increases, the ability of species to move between the fragments decreases. This produces genetically isolated populations that have a diminished probability of surviving through time owing to reduced genetic diversity. Temperate rainforests were never a common forest type anywhere in the world. We need to do everything we can to protect the little that remains and the species that inhabit them. Americobdella valdiviana,Chile,Geotagged,Nothofagus forest,Patagonia,Terrestrial leech,Winter,biodiversity,coastal rainforest,earthworm eating,endemic Chilean fauna,endemic species,habitat loss,humid forest,non-parasitic

Appearance

''Americobdella valdiviana'' is a predator and has only rudimentary jaws. Because of these features, it was originally classified as an erpobdellid leech. ''A. valdiviana'' is grey-coloured on the dorsal side with a yellowish ventral side. Whether eyes are present in this species is a matter of debate. While Philippi originally described ''Americobdella valdiviana'' as having no eyes, other authors have indicated that eyes are indeed present.

Food

''A. valdiviana'' feeds on earthworms.

References:

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Taxonomy
Kingdom	Animalia
Division	Annelida
Class	Clitellata
Order	Arhynchobdellida
Family	Americobdellidae
Genus	Americobdella
Species	A. valdiviana

Photographed in
Chile