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Of the 650 species of leech listed, Hirudo medicinalis is one of the most extensively studied. This annelid from the subclass Hirudinea has 2 suckers, one housing the mouth and its 3 jaws. It lives mainly in the stagnant waters of marshes and ponds. When it comes to reproduction, the animal is a hermaphrodite. Inseminated leeches lay their eggs during the spring and summer months, outside the water, with cocoons containing as many as thirty young.
It lives in lakes, marshes, and slow-moving streams. This leech is brownish-green with black and red spots, and it has a round, sucker-shaped mouth. They also have five pairs of eyes. The Freshwater Leech is a parasite that feeds on the blood of fish, frogs, turtles, and mammals.