Biodiversity of the Buffalo Leeches Genus Hirudinaria (Arhynchobdellida, Hirudinidae) in Southern Thailand Revealed from DNA Barcoding.

ABSTRACT: Leeches in the genus Hirudinaria Whitman, 1886, also known as buffalo leeches, are blood-sucking ectoparasites of vertebrates. Although they are widely distributed in Asia and had been highly abundant in the past, studies on diversity and taxonomy of this genus are still scarce. There is probably a large amount of cryptic diversity yet to be discovered, particularly from mainland Southeast Asia. In this study, we used morphology and DNA barcoding with a COI gene fragment to explored the diversity of Hirudinaria leeches in the southern region of Thailand, where a unique geographic feature could have led to the diversification of freshwater biota. Molecular phylogenetic analyses and species delimitation approaches (ABGD, bPTP, GMYC, and BOLD) revealed the presence of fou

SUBMITTER: Jiranuntskul P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10064040 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature