Research Article |
Corresponding author: Fredric R. Govedich ( govedich@suu.edu ) Academic editor: Samuel James
© 2017 Rebecca K. Beresic-Perrins, Fredric R. Govedich, Kelsey Banister, Bonnie A. Bain, Devin Rose, Stephen M. Shuster.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Beresic-Perrins RK, Govedich FR, Banister K, Bain BA, Rose D, Shuster SM (2017) Helobdella blinni sp. n. (Hirudinida, Glossiphoniidae) a new species inhabiting Montezuma Well, Arizona, USA. ZooKeys 661: 137-155. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.661.9728
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A new leech species Helobdella blinni sp. n., is described from Montezuma Well, an isolated travertine spring mound located in central Arizona, USA. In its native habitat, H. blinni had been previously identified as Helobdella stagnalis (Linnaeus, 1758), which was later reclassified to Helobdella modesta (Verrill, 1872). Similar to the European H. stagnalis and North American H. modesta, H. blinni has six pairs of testisacs, five pairs of smooth crop caecae, one lobed pair of posteriorly-directed crop caecae, one pair of eyes, a nuchal scute, and diffuse salivary glands. However, the pigmentation of this new species ranges from light to dark brown, unlike H. modesta which tends to be light grey in color. Also, H. modesta produces a clutch of 12-–35 pink eggs, whereas H. blinni produces smaller clutches of white eggs (7–14, 0.5 ± 0.15 mm, N = 7) and consequently broods fewer young (1–14, 7 ± 3.3 mm, N = 97). Helobdella blinni are also able to breed year-round due to the constant warm water conditions in Montezuma Well. Their breeding season is not restricted by seasonal temperatures. These species are morphologically similar, however, comparing the COI mtDNA sequences of H. blinni with sequences from nearby populations of H. modesta and other Helobdella species from GenBank indicate that H. blinni is genetically distinct from these other Helobdella populations.
Leech, Glossiphoniidae , Helobdella blinni sp. n., new species, Montezuma Well
Montezuma Well is a collapsed travertine spring mound located 72 km south of Flagstaff in the Verde Valley of Northern Arizona (34.6491°N,111.7522°W (DD)) (Fig.
Four leech species are known to inhabit Montezuma Well, including an endemic pelagic predator (
In support of this hypothesis,
Here, we compare key traits, both morphological and molecular, among members of the Montezuma Well Helobdella sp. population, several other nearby populations of H. modesta, and several other Helobdella species. Our molecular analysis includes the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial gene region to test the hypothesis that the Montezuma Well population of H. modesta is a distinct species and warrants a new species description. This region is known to be sufficiently variable to reveal interspecific differences and unlikely to suggest differences due to elevated mutation rates (
A total of 34 individuals of Helobdella sp. inhabiting Montezuma Well were collected from the underside of rocks in the swallet: five specimens were collected in June 2011 for molecular analysis and 29 were collected in June 2012 to assess morphological characteristics. For the molecular analysis, the leeches were preserved in 95% ethanol and others, for museum collections, were fixed with buffered formalin overnight and preserved in 70% ethanol. Additionally, a total of 10 specimens of H. f. modesta from Rio de Flag ponds near the Rio de Flag Waste Water Facility outflow in Flagstaff, Arizona (35.18418°N, 111.63294°W (DD)) and Oak Creek, AZ near the Cave Springs campground (34.9961°N, 111.7394°W (DD)) were collected for molecular analyses. These specimens were also fixed in 95% ethanol.
We documented number of eyes and their placement, color pattern, presence of papillae, number of and structure of gastric caecae, body size, presence of nuchal scute, gonopore placement, egg size and number, and number of offspring using a Nikon binocular dissecting microscope. We then deposited the examined materials in the Invertebrate Zoology collection at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (
Whole DNA was extracted from the caudal suckers of the individual leeches using a Qiagen DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit (Cat. No. 69504), with each sample incubated overnight in a water bath set at 54°C. Using
Taxon | Locality | Reference |
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Cystobranchus salmositicus | Outgroup |
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Ozobranchus margoi | Outgroup |
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Gonimosobdella klemmi | Outgroup |
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Myzobdella lugubris | Outgroup |
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Helobdella atli | French Guiana |
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Helobdella atli | Uruguay |
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Helobdella atli | Mexico |
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Helobdella blinni sp. n. | Montezuma Well, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella blinni sp. n. | Montezuma Well, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella blinni sp. n. | Montezuma Well, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella bolivianita | Bolivia |
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Helobdella bowermani | Oregon, USA |
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Helobdella bowermani | Oregon, USA |
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Helobdella bowermani | Oregon, USA |
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Helobdella californica | California, USA |
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Helobdella “elongata” | Mexico |
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Helobdella europaea | Taiwan |
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Helobdella europaea | Taiwan |
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Helobdella europaea | Taiwan |
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Helobdella europaea | Taiwan |
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Helobdella europaea | South Africa |
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Helobdella lineata | Michigan, USA |
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Helobdella fusca | Michigan, USA |
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Helobdella melananus | Taiwan |
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Helobdella melananus | Taiwan |
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Helobdella melananus | Taiwan |
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Helobdella michaelseni | Chile |
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Helobdella modesta | Columbus, Ohio, USA |
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Helobdella modesta | Washington, USA |
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Helobdella modesta | Washington, USA |
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Helobdella f. modesta | Rio de Flag, Flagstaff, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella f. modesta | Rio de Flag, Flagstaff, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella f. modesta | Oak Creek, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella f. modesta | Oak Creek, AZ, USA | This study |
Helobdella nununununojensis | Bolivia |
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Helobdella nununununojensis | Bolivia |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Taiwan |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | South Africa |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Mexico |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Mexico |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Mexico |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Mexico |
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Helobdella octatestisaca | Mexico |
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Helobdella papillata | Michigan, USA |
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Helobdella papillata | Virginia, USA |
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Helobdella papillornata | Australia |
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Helobdella paranensis | Uruguay |
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Helobdella pichipanan | Bolivia |
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Helobdella “robusta” TXAU1 | Texas, USA |
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Helobdella “robusta” | California, USA |
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Helobdella “robusta” CASA 1 | California, USA |
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Helobdella “robusta” NYTA | New York, USA |
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Helobdella simplex | Argentina |
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Helobdella simplex | Argentina |
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Helobdella simplex | Argentina |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella socimulcensis | Mexico |
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Helobdella sp. Xochimilco | Mexico |
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Helobdella sorojchi | Bolivia |
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Helobdella sorojchi | Bolivia |
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Helobdella stagnalis | United Kingdom |
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Helobdella “stagnalis” | Mexico |
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Helobdella “stagnalis” | Mexico |
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Helobdella transversa | Michigan, USA |
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Helobdella triserialis | Bolivia |
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Helobdella triserialis | California, USA |
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Helobdella virginiae | Mexico |
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Holotype.
Family | Species | Collection data | Voucher # |
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Glossiphoniidae | Helobdella blinni sp. n. | USA: AZ: Yavapai Co., Montezuma Well 34.6491°N, 111.7522°W (DD), 10.VI.2010, aquatic system, under rocks, RK Beresic-Perrins, Holotype ( |
1186106 |
Glossiphoniidae | Helobdella blinni sp. n. | (14 specimens) USA: AZ Yavapai Co., Montezuma Well 34.6491°N, 111.7522°W (DD), 10.VI.2010, aquatic system, under rocks, RK Beresic-Perrins, Paratypes ( |
1186107 |
1186108 | |||
1186109 | |||
1186110 | |||
1186111 | |||
1186112 | |||
1186113 | |||
1186114 | |||
1186115 | |||
1186116 | |||
1186117 | |||
1186118 | |||
1186119 | |||
1186120 |
Paratypes. (14 specimens) (
USA, Arizona: Yavapai County, Montezuma Well (34.6491°N, 111.7522°W (DD)), aquatic system, under rocks, 10 June 2012, R.K. Beresic-Perrins.
We have named this new species, Helobdella blinni in honor of Dr. Dean W. Blinn for his dedication to natural history research at Montezuma Well. For over 20 years at Northern Arizona University, Dr. Blinn studied a wide range of organisms and their interactions at Montezuma Well including predator-prey interactions between Motobdella montezuma and the endemic amphipod, Hyalella montezuma Cole & Watkins, 1977.
External morphology. Length of specimens 11 to 22 mm (mean + SE 16.6 + 3.2 N=24) and width 3 to 8 mm (5.7 + 1.1 N=28) (Table
Internal morphology. Average oral sucker diameter is 0.7 + 0.19 mm (N = 15), proboscis length is 3.5 + 1.1 mm (N = 17) (Table
Development and growth. This species breeds year-round with peaks in spring and fall. Our specimens had an average of 7 to 11 white eggs (diameter 0.5 + 0.15 mm, N = 7) fixed to their ventral surface. Laboratory collections (2007–10) of H. blinni documented the eggs hatching 1 to 2 weeks after ovipositing (
Internal and external morphology of Helobdella blinni sp. n. A dorsal view of the eyes and extended proboscis B crop and post caecae C testisacs D ventral view of internal eggs which have not been oviposited yet E ventral view of white eggs that have been oviposited F ventral view of attached and detached offspring.
Trait | Ave | SE | Min | Max | N |
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body length relaxed (mm) | 16.6 | 3.18 | 11.3 | 22.5 | 24 |
body width relaxed (mm) | 5.7 | 1.15 | 3.1 | 8.0 | 28 |
caudal diameter (mm) | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 27 |
egg diameter (mm) | 0.5 | 0.15 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 28 |
gonopore separation (mm) | 0.1 | 0.08 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 13 |
nuchal scute length (mm) | 0.335 | 0.05 | 0.284 | 0.432 | 9 |
nuchal scute width (mm) | 0.32 | 0.04 | 0.27 | 0.386 | 9 |
proboscis length (mm) | 3.5 | 1.10 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 17 |
oral sucker diameter (mm) | 0.7 | 0.19 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 15 |
progeny length (mm) | 3.6 | 1.68 | 1.6 | 6.6 | 18 |
progeny width (mm) | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 18 |
# eggs | 10.0 | 2.73 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 7 |
# progeny | 7.2 | 3.35 | 1.0 | 14.0 | 97 |
eye diameter (mm) | 0.1 | 0.02 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 11 |
eye distance (mm) | 0.1 | 0.04 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 13 |
A Bayesian inference phylogenetic tree of the COI sequence data is presented in Figure
When we aligned all 78 sequences, there were four, ten-codon deletions within all of the Arizona sequences and H. atli (
Bayesian Inference phylogenetic tree with 25% burn-in and support was assessed based on clade posterior probabilities tree. We included COI sequences from 31 species of Helobdella (family Glossiphoniidae). The Arizona populations are from Oak Creek (OC), Rio de Flag (RDF), and Montezuma Well (MW). Our outgroup included Cystobranchus salmositicus (Meyer, 1946), Gonimosobdella klemmi (Williams & Burreson, 2005), Myzobdella lugubris (Leidy, 1851), and Ozobranchus margoi (Davies, 1978). The shaded branches are the Arizona sample sequences. Branch labels include the Bayesian / ML probability. The blue nodes are supported by Bayesian Inference, Maximum-Likelihood, and parsimony analyses. The yellow nodes are supported by Bayesian Inference and Maximum-Likelihood analyses. The green nodes are supported by Bayesian Inference and parsimony analyses. The red nodes are supported by Bayesian Inference analysis only.
Traits | H. blinni sp. n. | H. modesta | H. californica | H. papillornata | H. temiscoensis | H. atli | H. bowermani | H. octatestisaca |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(current paper) | ( |
( |
( |
( |
( |
( |
( |
|
crop caecae | 5 pairs, smooth | 5 pairs, smooth | 6 pairs, lobed | 5–6 pairs, lobed | 4 pairs | 6 pairs | 5 pairs, smooth | 5 pairs |
post caecae | 1 pair | 1 pair | none | none | 1 pair | none | 1 pair | 1 pair |
eyes | 1 pair | 1 pair | 1 pair | 1 pair) | 1 pair | 1 pair | 1 pair | 1 pair |
distance between eyes | 0.1 mm | ? | ? | 0.06 mm | ? | ? | ? | ? |
nuchal scute | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
pairs of testisacs | 6 pairs | 6 pairs | 6 pairs | 5 pairs | 6 pairs | 6 pairs | 6 pairs | 4 pair |
salivary glands | diffuse | diffuse | ? | diffuse | diffuse | ? | diffuse | diffuse |
proboscis length | 3.5mm | ? | 0.7mm | 2mm | ? | ? | ? | ? |
color | transparent with spots to dark brown | transparent to light grey | dark grey | transparent with stripes and papillae | pale brown, blackish - on posterior and mid-body | white-yellowish | pale yellow/buff, papillae present | brown, pale, gray, and pink |
body length | 11–22 mm | 8–12 mm | 10–18 mm | 15–40 mm | 7.9–13.6 mm | 7.5 mm | 5.2–9.7 mm | 9–14 mm |
feeding | small invertebrates | small invertebrates | small invertebrates | small invertebrates | ? | ? | ? | small invertebrates |
brooding period | 6–7 weeks | 6–7 weeks | 3–4 weeks | 4–6 weeks | ? | ? | ? | ? |
egg color | white | pink | pink | pink | ? | ? | ? | ? |
egg diameter | 0.5 mm | ? | 0.5 mm | 0.2 mm | ? | ? | ? | ? |
# eggs | 7–14 | 12–35 | 8–56 | 20–50 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Differences in brooding season and size between H. blinni sp. n., H. stagnalis, and H. c.f. tp:taxon-name-part taxon-name-part-type="species" full-name="modesta">modesta.
Location | Brooding Season | Average # of offspring | Author |
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H. blinni sp. n. Montezuma Well, AZ |
Year-round | 1–14 |
|
H. modesta Utah Lake, UT |
Late spring through summer | 12.6–17.4 |
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H. modesta Lake Washington, WA |
Spring and Summer | 14.5 |
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H. modesta Marion Lake, BC, CA |
Spring and Summer | 17.2–19.7 |
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H. modesta Newsome Pond, AB, CA |
Late spring through summer | 21.3 | |
H. modesta Cambridge, MA |
Spring | 31 |
|
H. modesta Michigan |
Late spring through summer | 35.3 |
|
H. stagnalis Iceland |
Late spring through summer | No data |
|
H. stagnalis River Ely, South Wales |
Late spring through summer | No data |
|
H. stagnalis Whiteknights Lake, UK |
Late spring through summer | 13–17 |
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H. stagnalis Eglwys Nunydd, UK |
Late spring through summer | 14 |
|
H. stagnalis Denmark |
Late spring through summer | 20 |
|
Species | Distance - H. blinni | Distance - H. f. modesta |
H. atli | 14.1–15% | 16.7% |
H. bolivianita | 18.5% | 19.3% |
H. bowermani | 15.9% | 15.5% |
H. blinni | 0.0% | 13.3% |
H. californica | 16.7% | 17.6% |
H. f. modesta | 13.3% | 0.0% |
H. elongata | 18.0% | 19.3% |
H. europaea | 15.5% | 16.3% |
H. fusca | 19.3% | 20.6% |
H. lineata | 16.3% | 14.6% |
H. melananus | 16.3% | 17.2% |
H. michaelseni | 23.2% | 20.6% |
H. modesta OH | 13.7% | 8.6% |
H. modesta WA | 16.3% | 14.6% |
H. nununununojensis | 17.5–19% | 17.5–19.7% |
H. octatestisaca | 19.7% | 16.3% |
H. papillata | 17.6% | 15.8–16.3% |
H. papillornata | 15.9% | 16.7% |
H. paranensis | 16.3% | 13.7% |
H. pichipanan | 17.2% | 19.3% |
H. robusta | 17.6% | 14.6% |
H. aff robusta CASA | 18.9% | 17.2% |
H. aff robusta NYTA | 17.6% | 15.9% |
H. aff robusta TXAU1 | 17.2% | 18.0% |
H. simplex | 16.3% | 13.7–14.2% |
H. socimulcensis | 15.9% | 16.7–17.2% |
H. sorojchi | 18–18.5% | 17.6% |
H. sp. Xochimilco | 15.5% | 17.2% |
H. stagnalis | 20.6% | 17.2% |
H. stagnalis UK | 16.3% | 11.6% |
H. transversa | 16.3% | 15.0% |
H. triserialis | 15.9% | 16.7–18.5% |
H. virginiae | 16.3% | 16.7% |
Outgroup1 C. salmositicus | 24.9% | 23.2% |
Outgroup2 G. klemmi | 21.5% | 21.5% |
Outgroup3 M. lugubris | 18.0% | 19.3% |
Outgroup4 O. margoi | 23.2% | 20.2% |
Helobdella blinni sp. n. has morphological and life-history traits similar to other Helobdella species, including possession of a nuchal scute, diffuse salivary glands, six pairs of testisacs, and extended parental care for the young (6–7 weeks; Tables
Helobdella blinni, unlike the other Helobdella species discussed here, breeds year-round, living in the thermally stable environment of Montezuma Well, with constant (19–24˚C) year-round temperatures (Table
The results from our molecular analysis show H. blinni to be genetically distinct from other Helobdella species, both from the same region (Rio de Flag and Oak Creek, Arizona populations) and from Europe (UK sample). The sequences yielded a 13.3%–17.4% genetic difference between H. blinni and both the Arizona H. f. modesta, H. modesta (Ohio and Washington), and the United Kingdom H. stagnalis populations (Table
Based on morphological, life-history, and molecular differences, we propose the Helobdella sp. leeches found at Montezuma Well should be considered a new species, likely the result of allopatric isolation. This concept supports our hypothesis that the leech species inhabiting Montezuma Well may have become isolated from other populations as far back as 11,000 years ago (
Although currently classified as Helobdella f. modesta, the Arizona populations from the Rio de Flag and Oak Creek may be an additional undescribed species based on our molecular analysis. Our next step is to investigate these populations more closely, comparing them to other local populations, including White Horse Lake and J.D. Dam Lake, AZ which also contain H. modesta.
We would like to thank the National Park Service rangers and volunteers at the Montezuma Castle National Monument, especially Rex Vanderford, who assisted with collections and permits. Funding for the molecular and morphological analyses was provided by the National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship. William Moser, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, provided valuable assistance in specimen management. Dr. Tina Ayers and Tamara Max (Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences) provided valuable assistance and insight with molecular data analyses. All the members past and present of Dr. Stephen Shuster’s laboratory were indispensable with all aspects of data collection for this manuscript.