3582361118

Description of Barbronia assiuti n.sp. (Hirudinea) from Assiut, Egypt

M. A. Hussein & N. El-Shimy

Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science. Assiut University. Assiut. Egypt

Keywords: Hirudinea, freshwater lecch, Assiut, Egypt, taxonomy, morphology

Abstract

A ncwspecies of lccch of the genus Barbronia Johansson, 1918 was collectcd in freshwater canals near the Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut, Egypt. during the years 1978 and 1979. Wc have named it Barbronia assiuti n.sp.

Zusammenfassung

Bcschreibung einer ncucn Egcl-Art der Gattung Barbronia Johansson, 1918. Sic wurdc in SUBwasser-graben im Gelande der Landwirtschaftlichen Fakultet der Univcrsit&t Assiut Agypten wahrend der Jahre 1978 und 1979 gcsammclt. Sie wird Barbronia assiuti n.sp. genannt.

Introduction

Most recent studies on lccchcs are conccrncd with the ccological and biological aspects, while only a few studies dcal with the anatomy of differ-ent taxa. Also, systematic studies are hampered by the lack of a stable classification of Hirudinea (Mason 1974). In Egypt, no important studies about leeches have bcen published, although thesc ani-mals, especially Erpobdellidae and Glossiphonii-dae, are common in smali canals and lakes near the banks of the River Nile.

As a first step towards filling this gap, the present paper presents the description of a ncw spccies.

Methods

The leeches wcrc found attached to stones, plant stems, and fioating leaves which wcrc not cxposcd to dircct sunlight. Spccimcns were hand-pickcd.

and kept in glass jars with somc canal water. In the laboratory, the animals were transferred tę larger jars filled with water containinggrecnalgac, micro-arthropoda, and snails. In thesc jars the leeches could stay alive for morę than one year while feed-ing by sucking the body juices of snails (Physa, Bulinus. and Limnaea spp.).

For studying the extcrnal features and for disscc-tion, the leeches were killed in 70% ethanol. After about one minutę, the body became rclaxcd and stretched. The animals were preserved and dissect-ed in 70% ethanol under a stereobinocular micro-scopc. Toluidinc blue was used to stain the ncrvous system.

Barbronia assiuti nov.sp. (Erpobdellidae)

Derivatio nominis

The ncw spccies is named after its place of dis-covcry, Assiut in Egypt.

Hydrobiologia94. 17 24(1982). 0018 8158/82 0941 -0017/SOI.60. c Or W'. Junk Publisher*. The Haguc. Prinicd in The Nctherlands.