| Branchiobdellida | |
|---|---|
| |
| Branchiobdellids on the claw of a signal crayfish | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Clade: | Sedentaria |
| Class: | Clitellata |
| Order: | Branchiobdellida |
Branchiobdellida is an order of freshwater leech-like clitellates that are obligate ectosymbionts or ectoparasites, mostly of astacoidean crayfish.[1] They are found in the Northern Hemisphere and have a holarctic distribution in East Asia, the Euro-Mediterranean region and North and Central America, with the greatest species diversity being in North and Central America.[2]
- ^ Gelder, Stuart R.; Gagnon, Nicole L.; Nelson, Kerri (2002). "Taxonomic Considerations and Distribution of the Branchiobdellida (Annelida: Clitellata) on the North American Continent". Northeastern Naturalist. 9 (4): 451–468. doi:10.1656/1092-6194(2002)009[0451:TCADOT]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 3858556.
- ^ Thorp, James H.; Rogers, D. Christopher (2014). Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates: Ecology and General Biology. Elsevier. pp. 551–563. ISBN 978-0-12-385027-0.