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 Oki- nawajima 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.