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Motobdella montezuma

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Species of annelid worm

Motobdella montezuma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Clade: Sedentaria
Class: Clitellata
Subclass: Hirudinea
Order: Arhynchobdellida
Family: Erpobdellidae
Genus: Motobdella
Species: M. montezuma
Binomial name
Motobdella montezuma
(Davies, Singhal & Blinn, 1985) 
Synonyms 

Erpobdella montezuma Davies, Singhal & Blinn, 1985

Motobdella montezuma is a species of leech which is only found in Montezuma Well, central Arizona, United States. It is a nocturnal pelagic predator that feeds almost exclusively on the endemic amphipod Hyalella montezuma, which it detects using passive sonar and swallows whole.

Description

Adults of M. montezuma may reach a length of 71 mm (2.8 in) including the suckers at the front and rear.

Distribution

Montezuma Well

Motobdella montezuma is closely related to the genus Erpobdella, which includes species that are widespread across North America from Alaska to Mexico. However, M. montezuma is only known to occur in a single pool, Montezuma Well, in the Montezuma Castle National Monument in Yavapai County, Arizona.

Ecology

Montezuma Well, due to a high carbon dioxide level in the water, is unable to support a population of fish, leaving an ecological niche of predator-free open water. Although there are a number of species of invertebrates living in the well, the diet of M. montezuma consists almost entirely of the endemic amphipod Hyalella montezuma.

Behavior

Motobdella montezuma is nocturnal, resting at the bottom of the well during the day, when predatory waterfowl are present. As night falls, the leeches swim towards the surface and hunt amphipods near the surface; this is the only instance of a leech hunting in open water. Prey are detected by passive sonar, and swallowed whole. This pattern of diel vertical migration by a leech is only known to occur in Montezuma Well.

Life cycle

Like many other leeches, M. montezuma is hermaphroditic. Sexual reproduction results in two individuals fertilizing each other, and the resulting eggs are placed in a nutrient-filled cocoon. The cocoon is placed deep enough to avoid the attention of ducks and other predators, and the eggs hatch into self-sufficient juveniles.

References

  1. "Motobdella montezuma". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. "Erpobdellidae". Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  3. Fredric R. Govedich; Dean W. Blinn; Paul Keim; Ronald W. Davies (1998). "Phylogenetic relationships of three genera of Erpobdellidae (Hirudinoidea), with a description of a new genus, Motobdella, and species, Motobdella sedonensis". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 76 (12): 2164–2171. doi:10.1139/cjz-76-12-2164.
  4. James H. Thorp & Alan P. Covich (2001). Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates (2nd ed.). Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-690647-9.
  5. Roy T. Sawyer (1970). "Observations on the natural history and behavior of Erpobdella punctata (Leidy) (Annelida: Hirudinea)". American Midland Naturalist. 83 (1): 65–80. doi:10.2307/2424006. JSTOR 2424006.
  6. ^ Blinn, Dean W.; Davies, Ronald W. & Dehdashti, Behrooz (1987). "Specialized pelagic feeding by Erpobdella montezuma (Hirudinea)". Holarctic Ecology. 10 (3): 235–240. JSTOR 3682581.
  7. ^ Fredric R. Govedich & Bonnie A. Bain (2005). "All about the leeches of Montezuma Well" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
Taxon identifiers
Motobdella montezuma
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