Common Fish Leech

Piscicola geometra

General Status Rank: 
Secure
Common Name: 
Common Fish Leech
Scientific Name: 
Piscicola geometra
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Taxonomy
Group: 
Annelid (Leech)
Kingdom: 
Animalia
Phylum: 
Annelida
Class: 
Clitellata
Order: 
Rhynchobdellida
Family: 
Piscicolidae
Distribution

Distribution

Mapped for Great Slave Lake, Great Bear Lake and Mackenzie delta areas as well as northern Saskatchewan, Yukon and Alaska. The distribution of the Fish Leech (Piscicola geometra) is noted by Hovingh (2016, p. 44) as congruent with that of a major host, Northern Pike (Esox lucius). The report of Piscicola milneri on Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Great Bear Lake is probably based on this species if Hovingh (2016, p. 63) is correct that P. milneri is conspecific with P. geometra.
References: 
B2019002

Number of Occurrences

8 Great Slave Lake, Great Bear Lake and Mackenzie delta areas (Hovingh 2016); Plus 1 location: April 2008 four of these leeches were found on the body of a large Northern Pike brought up through a hole in 7 ft of ice on Prelude Lake northeast of Yellowknife (Catling)
References: 
B2019002
General Status Rank
Rank: 
Secure
Decision Process Description: 
New in 2019 Draft rank by S Carriere - based on preliminary list by John Reynolds (ECCC contract) with additional information from Catling and Kostiuk from literature reviews and surveys.
Last Updated: 
June 27, 2019

References

Number of Occurrences

  • Hovingh, P (2016) A Natural History Study of Leech (Annelida: Clitellata: Hirudinida) Distributions in Western North America North of Mexico . ResearchGate - B2019002 Return

Range Extent

  • Hovingh, P (2016) A Natural History Study of Leech (Annelida: Clitellata: Hirudinida) Distributions in Western North America North of Mexico . ResearchGate - B2019002 Return