CreatureData

Smooth turtle leech

Placobdella parasitica (Say, 1824)

Status not recordedworms

The smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica) is a species in the family Glossiphoniidae, order Rhynchobdellida.

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Quick facts about the smooth turtle leech

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the smooth turtle leech live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the smooth turtle leech as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Panama

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the smooth turtle leech endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the smooth turtle leech classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumAnnelida
  3. classClitellata
  4. orderRhynchobdellida
  5. familyGlossiphoniidae
  6. genusPlacobdella
  7. SpeciesPlacobdella parasitica (Say, 1824)

Synonyms Hirudo parasitica

Other names and names in other languages (2)
  • Sangsue lisse des tortuesFrench
  • Noord-Amerikaanse schildpadbloedzuigerDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the smooth turtle leech

Other species in the same genus Placobdella.

CompareSmooth turtle leech vs North American turtle leechSmooth turtle leech vs Placobdella akahkwaySmooth turtle leech vs Placobdella aliSmooth turtle leech vs Placobdella appalachiensis

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the smooth turtle leech an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the smooth turtle leech as introduced in 1 country: Panama, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the smooth turtle leech?

The smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica) belongs to the family Glossiphoniidae in the order Rhynchobdellida.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/smooth-turtle-leech

MLA

“Smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/smooth-turtle-leech.

BibTeX
@misc{smooth_turtle_leech_2026,
  title = {Smooth turtle leech (Placobdella parasitica)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/smooth-turtle-leech},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}