DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15144764
title: Table 6 in Alboglossiphonia afroalpina sp. nov. and Alboglossiphonia buniana sp. nov. - two new leech species from Africa and revision of the genus Alboglossiphonia Lukin, 1976 in Africa

description: Table 6. Characteristics of African Alboglossiphonia species (south of the Sahara), Afrotropis. Based on Gouda (2010) with additions from Moore (1939), Oosthuizen (1978 a, b, 1991), Augener (1936).
A. afroalpina sp. nov., JuegA. buniana sp. nov., JuegA. disjuncta (Moore, 1939) [incl. Glossiphonia verrucata Sciacchitano, 1939]A. macrorhyncha (Oosthuizen, 1978)A. conjugata (Oosthuizen, 1978)A. namaquaensis (Augener, 1936) [incl. A. cheili (Oosthuizen, 1978)]Shape and sizeelongated, moderately curved dorsally, flat ventrally, 6.0 mm long, 1.6 mm wide, posterior edge strongly concave dorsally (part of the caudal sucker is exposed)elongated-oval, dorsally moderately convex, ventrally flat, up to 7.1 mm long, up to 3.1 mm wide, tapering towards the front end, with head lobes, lateral edges wavy to very jaggedelongate-oval, first third narrow, 11.6 mm long, 2.2 mm wide, sexual maturity already at a small size, slightly convex, flat undersidepointed-oval, tapering towards the front end, flattened, up to 9.8 mm long, up to 4.2 mm wideelongate-oval, moderately flattened, ventrally flat, 9.1 mm long, 2.8 mm wide, sexually mature even at a small sizeelongate oval, moderately flattened, dorsally convex, ventrally flat to bell-shaped, up to 12.5 × 2.8 mmHead regiondistinct, short and widenot clearly set off, tapered in frontclearly set off over neck constrictionnot deposed or widenedclearly separated, only slightly broadenedshort, clearly set off by a nuchal furrowBasic color of living animalsprobably light brown to beigeprobably light brown to yellowishflesh-colored or greenbrowngreen or brown, or shades thereofbrown or greenMottle/patterncircular spots (only slightly darker than ground colour) on each annulus, giving a diffuse pattern on the dorsal side, suggesting (probably coincidentally) longitudinal rows which may be interrupted or of different lengths, higher concentration of circular spots on the sides of the body, fewer ventrally stain30-36 narrow dark vertical stripes, no spots or patternsdorsally with about 36 longitudinal stripes at the widest part of the body or chromatophores irregularly distributedmore than 10 pairs of dark brown narrow longitudinal stripes, light median field, isolated pigments outside the stripes34-36 dark longitudinal stripes at the widest part of the body; Chromatophores evenly distributed dorsally except for head region, lateral margins and posterior sucker, sometimes forming transverse streaks, paler unicolor ventrallydorsally with 30 dark brown or dark green narrow discontinuous stripes, fainter towards the ends, apex, postnatal ring and lateral margins unpigmentedPapillae and tuberclessmooth, no warts or papillae, very small, barely visible, low sensory papillae in transverse rows on each annulussmooth, no warts or papillae, very small, barely visible, low sensory papillae, especially numerous on the margins of the lateral lobes18 distinct papillae in transverse rows on each annulus in midbody region; larger papillae arranged in 7 longitudinal rows, many very sensory papillae unevenly distributedroughened by clear papillae (largest on a2) on the dark longitudinal stripes3 pairs of longitudinal rows of papillae on both sides, 16 large papillae on each annulus, numerous small rounded papillae, ventrally fewer small papillaeno prominent papillae, very small, low dome-shaped sensory papillae evenly distributed over body, eye area and posterior suction cup with irregular papillaeEyes6, 1st pair on a4, 2nd and 3rd pair on a5, eyes of 2nd and 3rd pair larger, occasionally fused, great variability in arrangement6, 1st pair (fused) on a4, 2nd and 3rd pair (left and right fused) on a5, only 3 eyes visible6, 1st pair on a4, 2nd and 3rd pair most fused or close, both on a56, 1st pair of smaller ones, anterior and both lateral pairs often fused, variable6, 1st pair on a4, 2nd and 3rd pair on a5, eyes of 2nd and 3rd pair much larger, occasionally fused6, small, 1st pair in a4, 2nd and 3rd in a5, pairs of eyes close, sometimes fused, variableCranial suckerlarge, cupped, with strong edgessmall, flat, pear-shaped, rounded in posterior part, grooved in front, thin-walledsmall, shovel-shapedflatcupped with deep cavity, well-developed rim with numerous tiny papillaeroundish-oval, moderately deep, bowl-shaped with thin side walls, edge covered with small papillae; 0.6 × 0.7mmMouthin the center, mostly large, triangular, sides slightly concave, base slightly convexin the center, stitch-like smallrelatively large in the centerin the center, with a striking transverse slitbig in the centerlarge, on top of a large dome-shaped papilla, in the centerCaudal suckersmall, circular, <half of maximum body width, slightly cupped, deepened in the middle, with a broad margin (ring-shaped)small, circular, <third of maximum body width, flat, broad base, with thick wallsmall, circular, diameter 0.9 mm, <half of maximum body widthsmall, circular, <half maximum body width, flat cup-shaped, distinct from body, dorsally with 7-8 brown bandssmall, circular, <half maximum body width, deeply cupped with thin margin, broadly attachedsmall, circular-elongated oval, 1.1 × 1.0 mm; moderately thick walls; Posterior edge barely visible from dorsalPairs of crop caeca?6, first 5 pairs slightly divided, 6th pair each with 5 small side lobes7, the first 6 unlobed, 7th pair each with 4 small side lobes6, first 5 pairs unlobed, 6th pair with 4 side lobes each7, bilobed, postcaeca with 5-6 lateral lobes7, the first 6 bilobed, postcaeca each with 15 slender lateral secondary lobesGonopores2, separated by 2 annuli, very small and inconspicuous, areas visible only as narrow dark streaks in the sulci between the annuli2, separated by 2 annuli, very small and inconspicuous2, separated by 2 annuli (XI/XII and XIIa2/a3), male well visible, female not2, separated by 2 annuli, both small2, separated by 1 annulus, walls at male and female atria2, separated by 2 annuli, very small, poorly recognizableEggs/juvenilesclutch with at least 20 eggs????clutch with at least 30 eggsFoodprobably small mussels (Pisidium montigenum) and insect larvae (Chironomidae)Gastropoda (Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Radix natalensis)Gastropoda (Bulinus truncatus), insect larvaeGastropodaGastropodaGastropoda (Bulinus truncatus), insect larvaeBiotopemountain lakes in the Afroalpine zone (3,000 to 4,500 m above sea level)?permanent and semi-permanent bodies of water: rivers, lakes, reservoirs with muddy water, under stonesreservoirs, on riparian vegetationsprings with permanent water, rainwater pools, reservoirs with muddy water, under tree stumpsrivers (also ephemeral), rainwater basins, ponds, reservoirs, under stonesDistributionKenya (Mt. Kenya Massif and Mt. Elgon Massif)Democratic Republic of Congo, Bunia (Province of Ituri)Uganda, Ethiopia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, South AfricaCoastal region of South Africa between Mozambique and LesothoNamibia, South AfricaNamibia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya
description: Published as part of Jueg, Uwe, 2023, Alboglossiphonia afroalpina sp. nov. and Alboglossiphonia buniana sp. nov. - two new leech species from Africa and revision of the genus Alboglossiphonia Lukin, 1976 in Africa, pp. 1 in Evolutionary Systematics 7 (1) on page 1, DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.7.94507