Batracobdella algira Moquin-Tandon, 1846 (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae)--morphometric analysis and internal morphology

There has been very few papers on leeches of Batracobdella algira. The aim of the presently reported study was to provide the measurements and, for the first time, description and characteristics of the reproductive and digestive systems of B. algira. The material used in this study was collected from frogs, Rana saharica Boulenger, 1913, in April 1987 by H. Hotz in Béja in Tunisia (11 individuals) and by R. Ben Ahmed in 2008 from the skin of Bufo mauritanicus Schlegel, 1841 in Nabeul in Tunisia (18 individuals). The relative length of the specimens ranges between 1.48 and 4.07. The digestive system of leeches has a standard structure for the species from the family Glossiphoniidae. Male and female gonopores are separated by two annuli. Ovisacs are as long as 5 neurosomits. The characteristic features of the male reproductive system of Batracobdella are sperm ducts, which are twisted in a small area and placed near to atrium. This study will hopefully contribute to a better understanding of the host-parasite relation.