First Record of Mimobdella japonica (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida: Salifidae) from Okinawajima Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, with a Description of the Specimens from the Ryukyu Islands

Abstract

Two specimens of the large, predaceous salifid leech Mimobdella japonica Blanchard, 1897 were collected from Okinawajima island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, representing the first record of this species from Okinawajima. A description is provided of the external and internal morphology of these specimens and two additional specimens of M. japonica from Amami-oshima island, also in the Ryukyu Islands. COI sequences showed no difference between the two specimens of M. japonica from Okinawajima and the two specimens from Amami-oshima (K2P distance=0%). This suggests that M. japonica is an introduced species in one or both of these islands.