The leech body is, "dorso - ventrally flattened". Meaning they are flat from top to bottom and measuring from 6 cm to 30 cm in length and are equipped with a sucking disk at both the anterior and posterior ends. The body is made up of 34 segments and had 3 pairs of eye at the anterior. A leech has a small anterior sucker and a larger posterior one. The anterior mouth contains three toothed plates or jaws. Colorations vary considerable, with most prominent colors being mottled black and green also black and brown. The underside of a leech is typically lighter in color than the backside. Tiny, paired, segmental nephridiopores are present laterally on the ventral surface of most of the body except the extreme anterior and posterior ends.
The pores are inconspicuous but are marked by a tiny pale spot on the posterior edge of the second annulus of the segment and are spaced 5 annuli apart for most of the length of the body. Leeches are parasites rather than predators, and suck the body fluids of their victims without killing them. One of these suckers surrounds the leech's mouth, which contains three sets of jaws that bite into the host's flesh, making a Y-shaped incision (Mercedes-Benz star).
Y shape incision
Leeches can stretch out as long and slender as a toothpick one moment, and be contracted into a tight ball the next. Leeches swim in an undulating moves and are quite rhythmic in their motion.
They typically swim in a slow up but when agitated can move at a much faster pace. Leeches consume the blood of a wide variety of animal hosts, ranging from fish, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.
Leech Behavior
Leech has two type of movement which is in water and on land. Leech moves in water by undulating up and down motion. Movement on land is accomplished by means of looping. The posterior sucker is attached to a substrate and the leech stretches out and attaches to the substrate with the anterior sucker, the posterior sucker is then detached and pulled up to the anterior sucker. For the resting posture, leech lies under large objects on the shoreline, partially out of water. In aquarium, after they feed their meals, leech will stick to the wall of the aquarium and also to the water hyacinth that has been provided.
Leech has two type of movement which is in water and on land. Leech moves in water by undulating up and down motion. Movement on land is accomplished by means of looping. The posterior sucker is attached to a substrate and the leech stretches out and attaches to the substrate with the anterior sucker, the posterior sucker is then detached and pulled up to the anterior sucker. For the resting posture, leech lies under large objects on the shoreline, partially out of water. In aquarium, after they feed their meals, leech will stick to the wall of the aquarium and also to the water hyacinth that has been provided.
Movement of Leech, AS: Anterior sucker; HS: Posterior sucker.
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