Description of Poecilobdella budhoi sp. nov. from Arunachal Pradesh, India
C. K. Mandal *
Zoological Survey of India, F.P.S. Building, 27, J. L Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
S. D. Gurumayum
Zoological Survey of India, APRC, Itanagar, Senki Valley, Papum Pare, 791113, India.
Temjenmongla
Zoological Survey of India, APRC, Itanagar, Senki Valley, Papum Pare, 791113, India.
P. Sharma
Zoological Survey of India, F.P.S. Building, 27, J. L Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
M. Bose
Zoological Survey of India, F.P.S. Building, 27, J. L Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
M. N. Hasan
Zoological Survey of India, F.P.S. Building, 27, J. L Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016, India.
S. Ghosh
School of Biological Science, NISER, Bhubaneswar-752050, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A mature hirudinid leech collected from the Kurung River, Kurung Kumey District, Arunachal Pradesh, India (27°47′ N, 92°51′ E; 1015 m a.s.l.) on 7 August 2025 is described as Poecilobdella budhoi sp. nov. The holotype (ZSI-GNC-An 8611/2) is deposited in the General Non-Chordata collection of the Zoological Survey of India. External and internal morphology was examined using binocular microscopy, dissection, and slide-calliper measurements. The holotype is 13 cm long and is characterised by brownish-blue colouration in life that fades after preservation, absence of longitudinal dorsal and ventral stripes, a smooth tegument, 112 externally counted annuli, an anterior sucker 9 mm wide, and a posterior sucker 2.3 cm wide with 64 visible rays. The male gonopore occurs on annulus 31 and the female gonopore between annuli 35 and 36, giving a four-annulus separation. Internally, the specimen has six pairs of crop caeca, a large to medium-sized prostate, a short-to-moderate vaginal stalk, and a small-to-moderate vaginal caecum. This character combination differs from the 11 selected comparator taxa summarised in Table 1. Because the description is based on a single holotype and no molecular sequence data are available, additional specimens and integrative molecular analyses are desirable to evaluate intraspecific variation and phylogenetic placement.
Keywords: Annelida, Hirudinea, Hirudinidae, Poecilobdella budhoi, new species, taxonomy, morphology