Dinaric land leech Xerobdella anulata (Autrum, 1958) (Hirudinea: Xerobdellidae) in Serbia – the easternmost record in Europe

Authors and affiliation

• Mihailo Vujić Institute of Zoology, University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• Vukašin Gojšina Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Studentski trg 16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Xerobdella anulata is a rare species of land leech endemic to the Dinaric Alps, distributed from southern Slovenia to northern Montenegro. Previously, the only known locality where this species had been recorded in Serbia was the village of Rastište on Mt Tara, in the far west of the country. In this article, we present the second record of X. anulata in Serbia, found in the village of Sokolac, near Ljubovija. A single specimen was discovered on land near a stream in an area with a limestone substrate. We briefly describe the collected specimen, with particular emphasis on the arrangement of the gonopores. Despite the significant lack of distributional data for this species, we believe that western Serbia and the Podrinje region represent the easternmost limit of species’ complete distribution.

Keywords

Annelida, gonopore, limestone

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