โ Scribed by Charlotte Holmquist
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
During a survey of northern Alaskan lakes a tiny bright red leech (Fig . 1) was found in a bottom sample from about 16 m depth in Chandler Lake (68 ยฐ15'N 152 ยฐ40'W) . The leech was preserved in Bouin's fluid for further examination . Only after preparation was it discovered that the leech was provided with setae at its frontal end .
The only known leech with setae belongs to the genus Acanthobdella . The genus has one species, viz . A . peledina GRUBE 1851 . The original specimens were taken as parasites on Siberian salmonid fish . Since then the leech has been found on such fish in an area from Scandinavia to eastern Siberia (cf. NURMINEN 1966) . Apparently, it does not occur in Lake Baikal, as stated by WESEN-BERG-LUND (1937) and MANN (1962) . It is mentioned from this locality neither by Kozriov (1963) nor by ZHADIN & GERD (1961/ 1963) . It was considered as Palaearctic, because it was never reported from North America .
The body length in leeches is naturally dependent on the state of contraction . A . peledina reaches a body length of about 30 mm in repose (LIVANOw 1906, p . 639) . The colour is said to be rather variable, ranging from gray-green to yellow-brown with darker cross-bands on the dorsal surface . There are also gradations to pure yellow, without cross-bands (DAHM 1962, p . 10 ; ANDERSSON 1965, p . 196) .
The body size of the specimen from Chandler Lake was only about 3 mm in repose, and 5 mm when the specimen was stretched out . The colour was bright red . Unfortunately, this specimen is only subadult . In broad outline, the morphology and anatomy seems very similar to that of A . peledina . There are three pairs of * Sekt. f. evertebratzoologi, Naturhistoriska Riskmuset,
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