Cryptic taxonomic diversity and high-latitude melanism in the glossiphoniid leech assemblage from the Eurasian Arctic.

ABSTRACT: The family Glossiphoniidae is a diverse and widespread clade of freshwater leeches, playing a significant role in functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The taxonomy and biogeography of leeches from temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions attracted much attention of zoologists, while their taxonomic richness and distribution in the Arctic are poorly understood. Here, we present an overview of the Eurasian Arctic Glossiphoniidae based on the most comprehensive occurrence and DNA sequence datasets sampled to date. This fauna contains 14 species, belonging to five genera and three subfamilies. One genus and five species are new to science and described here. The world's northernmost occurrences of glossiphoniids are situated on the Taymyr Peninsula at 72° N, although further records at highe

SUBMITTER: Bolotov IN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9712395 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature