Washington is no stranger to bloodsucking parasites, but scientists have identified a new species of previously unrecognized medicinal leech.
It’s the first one discovered on the continent in over 40 years.
Macrobdella mimicus was first identified from specimens collected in a Southern Maryland swamp in 2015.
, the museum鈥檚 curator of parasitic worms, led the international team of scientists that found the leeches.
In case you needed some nightmare fuel, Macrobdella mimicus .
Leeches like Macrobdella mimicus can suck five times their body weight in blood.
Phillips described the olive-green, orange-spotted parasite in the Aug. 15 issue of the “.”
鈥淲e found a new species of medicinal leech less than 50 miles from the National Museum of Natural History 鈥� one of the world鈥檚 largest libraries of biodiversity,鈥� Phillips said.
鈥淎 discovery like this makes clear just how much diversity is out there remaining to be discovered and documented, even right under scientists鈥� noses.鈥�
And the leeches aren’t just local: Searches through marshes and museum collections showed that the leech has long occupied a range that stretches between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coast.
Phillips and her team found related leeches in South Carolina and sequenced their DNA. Then she compared them to other invertebrates .
“All of a sudden, I started finding these things everywhere,鈥� Phillips said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been here this whole time. We just hadn鈥檛 looked at it in this new way.鈥�
The last time a new medicinal leech species was discovered in North America was 1975.
