Abstract
The occurrence of the medicinal leech Hirudo verbana in the inland waters of Sicily has been lately overlooked. In the present note, the occurrence and distribution of this species is reviewed based both on the review of the available literature data and field collecting. Although a noteworthy reduction in the distribution range of the species seems to have taken place in Sicily in the course of the XX century, Hirudo verbana was confirmed to be still present in several sites located both within and out of Natura2000 sites. The Sicilian populations of the species should be included in the frame of the monitoring activities established by the Article 17 of the EU Council Directive 92/43/EEC (“Habitats Directive”).
Highlights
Among the representatives of leech genera and families that have been historically used for medical purposes (Sket & Trontelj 2008, Elliott & Kutschera 2011), the true “medicinal leeches” belong to the Palearctic hirudinid genus Hirudo Linnaeus, 1758
Whilst Delle Chiaje (1823) reported the widespread presence of the species in Sicily (“habitat ubique in stagnis et paludibus utriusque Siciliae”), and Blanchard (1894) studied specimens collected in a natural pond, the early XX century records of “Hirudo medicinalis” in Sicily only refer to the neighbourhoods of large towns (Dequal 1911, 1916), suggesting the presence of introduced or translocated “medicinal leeches” used by local human population for medical purposes
All the XXI century records of Hirudo verbana are pertaining to scarcely inhabited areas, where pastoralism is still actively performed
Summary
Among the representatives of leech genera and families that have been historically used for medical purposes (Sket & Trontelj 2008, Elliott & Kutschera 2011), the true “medicinal leeches” belong to the Palearctic hirudinid genus Hirudo Linnaeus, 1758 This genus includes the highly divergent Hirudo nipponia Whitman, 1886 and a cluster of closely related species until recently lumped under the binomen Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758, a species whose native range is limited to central and northern Europe (Utevsky et al 2010). Hirudo medicinalis and H. verbana are included in the Appendix II of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
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