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Acrobatic leeches are nightmare fuel [1]

['Gail Sherman']

Date: 2024-06-21  

Full disclosure: I have never seen a leech in real life. I have, however, seen Stand By Me many times, and played hundreds of hours of Valheim, so I know I do not care for them. I also thought I knew how they moved around — slowly, and not through the air. Not so, according to Science. At least one species of leech in Madagascar has the ability to jump.

Chtonobdella fallax From the journal Biotropica

Whether leeches use their hops to land on hosts remains to be seen. But if they do, it could be a boon for biodiversity conservation. Scientists searching leech guts to unravel which animals they've fed on may interpret their findings differently if the slippery bloodsuckers can soar, painting a more accurate picture of animal communities in the creatures' Indo-Pacific homes. Science

Let's see how much of a boon the first scientist who has a leech jump on their face thinks it is. I'm kidding. Mostly.

Previously: Nose-dwelling leech

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