A broad survey conducted across southern Asia reinforces the idea that the mammal biodiversity of an area can be determined by looking at the DNA found in leeches' blood meals. The new study also ...

There’s one more species to add to the list of parasites that feed on human blood. Macrobdella mimicus has three muscular jaws, each of which are lined with 56 to 59 teeth, research zoologist Anna ...

Macrobdella mimicus, the first new species of medicinal leech discovered in over 40 years. (The Smithsonian Institution) Macrobdella mimicus, the first new species of medicinal leech discovered in ...

TORONTO, ON- OCTOBER 29 - A European medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is bigger after feeding on a blood sausage. The rear of the leech is the bigger part with a smaller head that has multiple ...

Since the dawn of civilization, leeches have been firmly attached to medicine. Therapeutic bloodsuckers are seen in murals decorating the tombs of 18 th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs. They got their ...

Scientists have discovered a new species of medicinal leech lurking in the freshwater wetlands of southern Maryland. This is the first new identification of a North American medicinal leech since 1975 ...

You might think you know leeches: Go for a swim in the wrong shallow lake, and you’ll emerge covered in sleek black bloodsuckers that have decided you’re their next meal. But inside a leech, ...

Leeches get a bad rap — but they might not deserve it. Yes, they’re creepy crawly bloodsuckers. And they can instill an almost primal sense of disgust and revulsion. Humphrey Bogart’s character in the ...

Udelnaya is a sleepy town southeast of Moscow, full of muddy roads lined with brightly painted wooden houses. Behind a frozen stream there is one large brick building that looks a little out of place.

The fossil leech compared with a modern leech. Double arrows indicate the large caudal sucker used for attachment, single arrows indicate body annulations. A newly described fossil reveals that ...