Exploring the attachment of the Mediterranean medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana) to porous substrates.

ABSTRACT: Haematophagous ectoparasites must ensure a reliable hold to their host during blood meals and, therefore, have evolved a broad spectrum of versatile and effective attachment mechanisms. The Mediterranean medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana), for example, uses suction on both smooth and textured air-tight substrates. However, preliminary studies showed that H. verbana is also capable of attaching itself to air-permeable substrates, where suction does not work. Using high-speed videography and mechanical tests, we comparatively investigated the attachment of H. verbana on both smooth and textured air-tight as well as on porous artificial substrates, also considering the influence of mucus on sucker surfaces. In general, the leech-specific locomotion cycle did not differ betw

SUBMITTER: Kampowski T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7423445 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature