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The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Branchiobdella

Branchiobdella Odier, 1823 (ref. ID; 1257, 3692)

Superclass Clitellata: Class Branchiobdellida: Family Branchiobdellidae (ref. ID; 6456)

Family Branchiobdellidae (ref. ID; 1257, 7854)

ref. ID; 1257

This genus of parasites found on the gills or body of crayfish have not to my knowledge been recorded from Britain. (ref. ID; 1257)

ref. ID; 1923

Without setae; with posterior sucker; pharynx with dorsal and ventral chitinous jaws; commensal on crayfish. With one pair of testes in segment 5. (ref. ID; 1923)
  1. Branchiobdella americana Pierantoni, 1912 (ref. ID; 1923)
  2. Branchiobdella astaci Odier, 1823 (ref. ID; 3692, 6456)
  3. Branchiobdella cheni Liu, 1964 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
    See; Branchiobdella minuta (ref. ID; 6579)
  4. Branchiobdella domina Timm, 1991 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  5. Branchiobdella hexodonta Gruber, 1883 (ref. ID; 3692)
  6. Branchiobdella kobayashii Yamaguchi, 1934 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  7. Branchiobdella macroperistomium Liu & Z., 1983 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  8. Branchiobdella minuta Pierantoni, 1912 (ref. ID; 6579, 6651, 7854)
    Syn; Branchiobdella cheni Liu, 1964 (ref. ID; 6579)
  9. Branchiobdella monodonta Liu & Zhang, 1983 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  10. Branchiobdella orientalis Yamaguchi, 1934 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  11. Branchiobdella parasita Henle, 1835 (ref. ID; 3692)
  12. Branchiobdella pentodonta Whitmann, 1882 (ref. ID; 3692, 6456)
  13. Branchiobdella teresae Subchev, 1986 (ref. ID; 6651, 7854)
  14. Branchiobdella tetradonta Pierantoni, 1906 (ref. ID; 1923)

Branchiobdella americana Pierantoni, 1912 (ref. ID; 1923)

Descriptions

Dorsal and ventral jaws dissimilar with a 5-4 dental formula; peristomium entire. (ref. ID; 1923)

Branchiobdella astaci Odier, 1823 (ref. ID; 3692, 6456)

Descriptions

See Branchiobdella pentodonta

Branchiobdella minuta Pierantoni, 1912 (ref. ID; 6579, 6651, 7854)

Synonym

Branchiobdella cheni Liu, 1964 (ref. ID; 6579)

Descriptions

Emended by SRG: body small, terete; preserved specimens 1.4-2.5 mm long, 0.4-1.0 mm widest trunk segment 5. Peristomium: dorsal lip with 4 short lobes each with cord of cells; one pair of small lateral lobes and a median fissure in ventral lip; mouth surrounded by 16 oral papillae. Head cylindrical, 0.2-0.5 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm wide. Anterior pharynx having 2 sulci. Jaws similar, dorsal larger, triangular, base 34-65 µm wide, 14-25 µm high; one, large median tooth, 4 or 5 small lateral teeth (2-1-2/2-1-2 or 2-1-3/2-1-2); former arrangement predominating. Dorsal and lateral surface of each major annulus forming transverse ridge. Trunk segment 1, 0.2-0.4 m wide. Posterior adhesive organ thick, disc-shaped, 0.3-0.5 mm diameter. Spermatheca: spermathecal bulb hemispherical, ventrally flat, 0.14-0.22 mm in diameter; duct S-shaped, 0.2-0.3 mm long, opening onto ventrum of trunk segment 5. Male genitalia: spermiducal gland blind-ended, thick tube floding twice; ejaculatory duct folding 3 or 4 times before connecting with bursa; eversible penis fully extended, 0.3 mm long. (ref. ID; 6579)

Remarks

Four small lateral teeth were found in 79% of the specimens examined while 21% had 5 teeth on one jaw. Diatoms, algae, plant fragments, insect larvae and other species of branchiobdellid have been observed in the alimentary canal (Liu, 1964 and his additional personal observations). Three flattened, specimens identified as B. cheni by Liu, were examined and confirmed the observation reported above. (ref. ID; 6579)

Hosts

Cambaroides schrentkii Kessler (Pierantoni, 1912) and C. dauricus (Pallas) (Liu, 1964). (ref. ID; 6579)

Type locality

Sand-bank on the Amur River, Sino-Soviet Union border. (ref. ID; 6579)

Type materials

Presumed destoryed in the Hamburg Museum in 1943. (ref. ID; 6579)

Syntype materials

Single head recovered from Hamburg Museum collection (v.2921). (ref. ID; 6579)

Holotype and paratypes of B. cheni

Deposited in the Department of Parasitology, Shenyang, Medical Institute, R.P. China. (ref. ID; 6579)

Branchiobdella pentodonta Whitmann, 1882 (ref. ID; 3692, 6456)

Descriptions

The spermatozoa of both B. pentodonta and B. astaci are very long, the former being 258.8 µm. The Branchiobdella astaci spermatozooon, according to Ostroumoff (1883), has an anterior spiral part, presumably the acrosome and nucleus, which is 9 µm long, and a threadlike tail 310 µm long, giving a total length of 319 µm. Ultrastructural details of the B. astaci spermatozoon are reported here for the first time. Additional details for B. pentodonta (see Ferraguti et al. 1986) are given here so that a complete representative for this genus can be illustrated and compared with the other genera. The two species have the same ultrastructural characters; however, they do differ from each other as stated above. The acrosome is one of the largest in the animal kingdom. It is composed of a twisted acrosome tube, about 1 µm wide and 33 µm long, which contains the acrosome vesicle. The posterior end of the vesicle contains a discrete concentration of multilayered membranes surrounding a central invagination. Almost filling this aperture is a spherical electron-dense body (= "cork") with a very short secondary tube. It is not always visible, but starts at the proximal end of the acrosome vesicle. The acrosomal vesicle extends anteriorly, with the outer membrane in contact with the acrosome tube and the inner membrane folding repeatedly. Each fold extends towards the interior to form small flattened tubules. The folding ceases in the anterior region and the vesicle protrudes slightly beyond the acrosomal tube to touch the plasm membrane. A ring of electron-dense material is located within the vesicle, in the slight protuberance. The "subacrosomal space" is the region between the tightly packed vesicle tubules, and the material becomes more electron-dense as it approaches the anterior end of the acrosomal tube. The nucleus is short and tapers posteriorly, with a concavity in both anterior and posterior surfaces. The mid-piece contains seven short mitochondria arranged and twisted about the central axis of the spermatozoon. The long tail consists of a flagellum, but an end-piece is absent. Immediately posterior to the mitochondria is the centriolar region consisting of a cylinder 0.4 µm long and 0.22 µm wide. In cross section this centriolar remnant has an indistinct ninefold symmetry. At its center, a structure continuous with the central apparatus of the flagellum extends to reach the mitochondria. The axoneme has the basic clitellate appearance, with a helical marginal fiber of electron-dense material lying just under the plasma membrane of the flagellum. The marginal fiber has a pitch of about 1.6 µm. (ref. ID; 6456)

Branchiobdella tetradonta Pierantoni, 1906 (ref. ID; 1923)

Descriptions

Dorsal and ventral jaws similar, with a 4-4 dental formula; peristomium bilobed. (ref. ID; 1923)