CLASSIFICATION OF HAEMOPIS
PHYLUM :- ANNELIDA (Metamerically segmented, coelomate and laterally symmetrical. )
CLASS :- CLITELLATA (having a clitellum – the ‘collar’ that forms a reproductive cocoon during part of their life cycles)
SUB-CLASS :- HIRUDINEA (Annelids with fixed segments, without parapodia and with anterior and posterior
suckers.)
ORDER :- ARCHYNCHOBDELLIDA OR GNATHOBDELLIDA (Proboscis non-protrusible; jaws present.)
FAMILY :- HIRUDINIDAE
GENUS :- Haemopis
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
Cosmopolitan
HABIT AND HABITAT
Haemopis is found in ponds, streams and swampy meadows and leads a lethargic life in autumn by burrowing itself in marshy ground. It is carnivorous, swallowing freshwater worms, insects, larvae, tadpoles and small fish. Late Professor K.N. Bahl recorded Haemopis from Kashmir.
GENERAL CHARACTERSTICS OF HAEMOPIS
- Commonly called as hungry horse leech.
- Body is elongated and cylindrical with pairs of eyes.
- There are 5 annuli between gonopores.
- Jaws are rounded with large blunt teeth in two rows.
- Copulatory glands are absent and crop bears a single caecum.
- Development takes place in cocoons.
IDENTIFICATION
The animal contains 5 annuli between gonophores and all above features, hence it is Haemopis
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