Comparative Morphology Study on the Jaws of Three Leech Species of the Genus Whitmania Blanchard
Author of the article:QIAO Ning1, BAI Yi1,2, WANG Guihu1, XU Shengquan1*
Author's Workplace：(1. Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; 2. College of Life Sciences, Taizhou University, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province 317000, China)
Key Words：taxonomy; jaws; Whitmania; anatomy
Abstract：The study utilize anatomical method and environmental scanning electron microscope to compare the jaw morphology of three species in Whitmania Blanchard including Whitmania laevis (Baird, 1869), Whitmania pigra (Whitman, 1884) and Whitmania acranulata (Whitman, 1886). The result showed that the jaws of W. pigra are advanced with two lines of blunt and regular tooth plates on the surface; the jaws of W. laevis are degraded with no tooth plates; and the jaws of W. acranulata are degraded with two lines of blunt and irregular tooth plates on the surface. This study provides a new morphological characteristic for the taxonomic study of leeches based on morphological structure of jaw.