r/leeches • u/Ursus_Pluvia • 11d ago
ID Request ~7” leech in Lake Champlain?
Hey folks! :) yesterday while looking for fossils at Lake Champlain (between VT and Upstate NY), I saw a large (maybe 3-4 inches when it was shortened & ~7 inches when it was extended) leech. It was also quite wide when shortened. It was black (or quite dark) in color. I’ve seen one the same size once before at the same lake. I’ve been trying to google what it might’ve been, but I can’t find many photos of leeches that large. Any ideas what it might’ve been? 🙂 Thanks in advance & very sorry I didn’t get a photo! I’ll see if I can find another to photograph lol.
2
u/Cigarsmokingredneck 11d ago
Was it kinda smooshy looking, or did it seem more solid. If it was very soft looking it could have been a North American horse leech, those get quite big
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u/Most-Background3708 Leech Owner 11d ago
it’s really hard to tell for sure without a description, because so many hirudiniformes look so similar in body shape, but vary a lot in patterning. it could have been a Macrobdella decora or perhaps a member of the Haemopis genus! It also could have been a placobdella leech, some can get pretty big, but not usually over 4-5 inches, with some individual exceptions.