Praobdellidae
Praobdellidae is a family of hematophagous leeches which live on the mucous membranes of mammals and sometimes invertebrates. These are internal parasites that enter the body through natural orifices, and cause hirudiniases.
These species are characterized by a reduced number of teeth, and a posterior sucker larger than the previous one. The latter may be involved in fixation on moist surfaces such as mucous membranes.
A 2017 paper discovered they did not exclusively infest mammals; individuals were recorded feeding on a Japanese freshwater crab, ''Geothelphusa dehaani.''
Genera
The Interim Register of Marine and Non-marine Genera include:- Dinobdella Moore, 1927
- Limnatis Moquin-Tandon, 1827
- Limnobdella Blanchard, 1893
- Myxobdella Oka, 1917
- Parapraobdella Phillips, Oosthuizen & Siddall, 2011
- Praobdella Blanchard, 1896
- Tyrannobdella Phillips, Arauco-Brown, Oceguera-Figueroa, Gomez, Beltrán, Lai & Siddall, 2010
- NB:WoRMS only includes those marked above.