Loading AI tools
Motobdella montezuma is a species of leech which is only found in Montezuma Well, central Arizona, United States. It is a nocturnal pelagic predator that feeds almost exclusively on the endemic amphipod Hyalella montezuma, which it detects using passive sonar and swallows whole.
| Motobdella montezuma | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Clade: | Sedentaria |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Subclass: | Hirudinea |
| Order: | Arhynchobdellida |
| Family: | Erpobdellidae |
| Genus: | Motobdella |
| Species: | M. montezuma |
| Binomial name | |
| Motobdella montezuma (Davies, Singhal & Blinn, 1985) [1] | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
|
Erpobdella montezuma Davies, Singhal & Blinn, 1985 | |
Adults of M. montezuma may reach a length of 71 mm (2.8 in) including the suckers at the front and rear.[3]
Motobdella montezuma is closely related to the genus Erpobdella,[4] which includes species that are widespread across North America from Alaska to Mexico.[5] However, M. montezuma is only known to occur in a single pool, Montezuma Well, in the Montezuma Castle National Monument in Yavapai County, Arizona.[6]
Montezuma Well, due to a high carbon dioxide level in the water, is unable to support a population of fish, leaving an ecological niche of predator-free open water. Although there are a number of species of invertebrates living in the well, the diet of M. montezuma consists almost entirely of the endemic amphipod Hyalella montezuma.[6]
Behavior
Motobdella montezuma is nocturnal, resting at the bottom of the well during the day, when predatory waterfowl are present.[7] As night falls, the leeches swim towards the surface and hunt amphipods near the surface; this is the only instance of a leech hunting in open water.[7] Prey are detected by passive sonar, and swallowed whole. This pattern of diel vertical migration by a leech is only known to occur in Montezuma Well.[7]
Like many other leeches, M. montezuma is hermaphroditic. Sexual reproduction results in two individuals fertilizing each other, and the resulting eggs are placed in a nutrient-filled cocoon. The cocoon is placed deep enough to avoid the attention of ducks and other predators, and the eggs hatch into self-sufficient juveniles.[7]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
