North American medicinal leech
The North American medicinal leech is a slippery worm that lives in fresh water. Its back is greenish-brown with a row of little orange or red dots, and its belly is orange with black spots. It has ten tiny eyes arranged in a horseshoe shape.
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Fun facts
It has three jaws, each with a row of about 65 very sharp little teeth that work like a saw.
Its stomach takes up most of its body, so it can hold a big meal.
Its spit has a special blood thinner that may be found in no other animal.
Its scientific name Macrobdella means big leech, even though it is only medium-sized.
Most asked questions about North American medicinal leech
?Does the North American medicinal leech bite people?
Yes, sometimes. It is not dangerous, but a grown-up should help remove it.
?How big is the North American medicinal leech?
About 5 to 8.5 centimetres long.
?Where does the North American medicinal leech live?
In ponds, lakes and streams in eastern North America.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Macrobdella decora
- Named by
- Say, 1824
- Group
- Snails, slugs and worms
- Family
- Macrobdellidae
- Classification
- Clitellata > Arhynchobdellida > Macrobdellidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Macrobdella decora (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Original photograph by Owen Strickland. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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