Top 10 - 2011
Leech
(Images courtesy of PLoS ONE)
Name: Tyrannobdella rex
Common Name: None
Family: Praobdellidae
How it made the Top 10: This T. rex leech was discovered feeding from the nasal mucous membrane of a little girl in Perú. It is unusual because it is the only known species of leech with a “single armed jaw with such large teeth.”
Reference: Phillips, A.J., R. Arauco-Brown, A. Oceguera-Figueroa, G.P. Gomez, M. Beltran, Y.-T. Lai and M.E. Siddall. 2010. Tyrannobdella rex n. gen. n. sp. and the evolutionary origins of mucosal leech infestations. PLoS ONE 5(4):e10057.
Type Material: Holotype – Museum of Natural History of San Marcos University (MUSM), Lima, Perú. Paratypes – MUSM and Peruvian Health Institute, Lima, Perú.
Type Locality: Perú, Chanchamayo Province, Chanchamayo Province, La Merced.
Etymology: Tyrannobdella: tyrannos (G.) – ‘‘tyrant’’ + bdella (G.) – ‘‘leech’’; rex: rex (G.) – ‘‘king’’.