| Proboscisless leeches | |
|---|---|
| |
| A giant Americobdella species from southern Chile. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Clade: | Sedentaria |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Subclass: | Hirudinea |
| Infraclass: | Euhirudinea |
| Order: | Arhynchobdellida Blanchard, 1894 |
| Suborders | |
|
Erpobdelliformes | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Arhynchobdellae Stuart, 1982[verification needed] | |
Arhynchobdellida, the proboscisless leeches, are a monophyletic order of leeches. They are defined by the lack of the protrusible proboscis that defines their sister taxon, the Rhynchobdellida.[1][2][3] Arhynchobdellida is a diverse order, compromising both aquatic and terrestrial, besides sanguivorous and predatory, leeches.[3] The order is divided into two suborders, Erpobdelliformes and Hirudiniformes (sometimes also called the Pharyngobdelliformes and Gnathobdelliformes, respectively).[1]
- ^ a b Ax, Peter (2000), Ax, Peter (ed.), "Rhynchobdellida — Arhynchobdellida", Multicellular Animals: The Phylogenetic System of the Metazoa. Volume II, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 72–76, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-10396-8_18, ISBN 978-3-662-10396-8, retrieved 2022-12-31
- ^ Ecology, Environment and Conservation. EM International, Publishers of Quality International Journals. doi:10.53550/eec.
- ^ a b Uttam, Suneha, and Seema Langer. "Distribution and Identification key for species of freshwater leech genus Erpobdella Blainville, 1818 (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida: Erpobdelliformes: Erpobdellidae)."