Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
The eyes have it: long-distance dispersal by an intraorbital leech parasite of birds.
- Journal:
- The Journal of parasitology
- Year:
- 2013
- Authors:
- Siddall, Mark E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics · United States
- Species:
- bird
Abstract
A leech was found parasitizing the ocular orbit of a common redstart captured during a faunistic survey of Antikythira in the Aegean Sea during the spring migration of 2012. Morphological and molecular characterizations placed the leech in the mucous-membrane specific leech family Praobdellidae and definitively as the species Parapraobdella lineata. This is the first record of any leech parasitizing a passerine bird, Phoenicurus phoenicurus , and the first of a praobdellid leech on any avian host.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23656566/