Turtle Leech

Turtle Leech - Out of Stock

The Turtle Leech aka

Placobdella parasitica

Found in North America, the Placobdella parasitica leech is an excellent parent. Not only can it perform both mother and father duties (simultaneously, it is a hermaphrodite), but it also takes care of its young. These leeches spend most of their lives on turtles, where they will feed on blood primarily around the pits and tail of the legs (where the turtle's formidable jaws can't touch them). Despite the caring nature of leeches after breeding, conception of the young is actually quite violent. Leeches will ram tiny spermatophores into each other in a process known as traumatic insemination.