William E. Moser

Placobdella ali Hughes & Siddall, 2007 is a species of North American leech that commonly parasitizes freshwater turtles. Previous distribution records have confirmed its presence across southern New England, New York, and New Jersey, USA. We examined recently collected specimens, museum records, and iNaturalist observations to update the distribution of P. ali . We report the species presence in eight additional states, more than quadrupling its previously published distribution, and document the first report of P. ali utilizing Pseudemys concinna LeConte, 1830 as a host.

Biodiversity collections in the United States hold over a billion specimens and are essential to understanding the history of life on Earth, as well as patterns of biodiversity in response to environmental change. Each specimen is linked by metadata to an organism's name and the place and time of its collection. Extensive data have been collected on Earth's geology, hydrology, climate, and organisms—past and present—but the data remain largely fragmented. We report in the present article on community discussions to develop a roadmap and identify action items for the Building an Integrated, Open, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (BIOFAIR) Data Network, directly linking the various types of biological and environmental data. The roadmap is organized into five themes: stocktaking and gap analysis, technological capacity building, best practices, education and training, and community building. Together, these themes chart a path from initial resource inventories and skill building to infrastructure development, cross‑disciplinary collaboration, and the establishment of FAIR‑compliant workflows and governance.

The Common North American Turtle Leech, Placobdella parasitica, was reported in 2023 using the Northwestern Pond Turtle, Actinemys (Emys) marmorata, as a host in the Lower Rogue River, southwestern Oregon, USA. Molecular analysis and haplotype networks based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence revealed that this introduced population has very low haplotype diversity and is likely the result of a single introduction of a gravid adult, an adult brooding eggs or hatchlings, or a small number of related individuals. While we determined that the precise source population was not represented in our sampling, there was strong similarity between the representatives from Oregon and those from near the Arkansas-Missouri border. Molecular evidence also supports this as a recent introduction, likely via human activity, and potential pathways of introduction are considered. Our results agreed with a previous study of morphological and molecular data of P. parasitica samples from throughout its native range in North America that found the species to be widely distributed, morphologically conservative, and molecularly variable. Using COI sequence data with Bayesian Inference, we evaluated species cohesiveness using species delimitation analyses (ABGD, mPTP, bPTP, and GMYC) that revealed 13 species entities that were clustered by geographic region. Identifying the source population and possible invasion pathways of this introduced population and assessing the dispersal capabilities of P. parasitica could slow and prevent further range expansion in the western USA. Introduced P. parasitica has not been recognized as a threat to the health of the Northwestern Pond Turtle or the Rogue River ecosystem so its presence has not been systematically monitored, but any introduced parasite is concerning given that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed this turtle species for Threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.

Field- and lab-based research projects have the potential to amplify their impact through the generation, collection, and deposition of specimens into established repositories (Peterson 2010, Ball-Damerow et al. 2019, Boundy-Mills et al. 2019, NASEM 2020, Heberling et al. 2021, Hardisty et al. 2022). Specimens are broadly defined as organisms (including those that are genetically modified), parts of organisms, fossils and trace fossils, living organisms (e.g., microbes, algae), and nonbiological environmental samples (e.g., water, soil, rocks). Preservation of specimens is essential for two elements of modern science: validating past results and building on past discoveries. There have been calls for increased vouchering or deposition of biodiversity specimens into established repositories across the life sciences, including natural history disciplines and beyond (Funk et al. 2005, Peterson 2010, Schilthuizen et al. 2015, Buckner et al. 2021, Colella et al. 2021). Timely and properly archived physical specimens and their digitized data are accessible to an ever-increasingly diverse audience, support transparency and reproducibility in research, and provide critical information that can stimulate new avenues of research.

Alboglossiphonia pallida (Verrill, 1872) comb. nov. is resurrected and redescribed based on morphological and molecular data from specimens of the type locality (New Haven County, Connecticut, USA) that demonstrate it is distinct from North American Alboglossiphonia heteroclita, European Alboglossiphonia heteroclita, and Alboglossiphonia papillosa. Alboglossiphonia pallida is characterized by having dark chromatophores on the dorsal surface arranged lateral to patrilaterally and medially as a thin line or interrupted thin line along with three pairs of eye spots (with the first pair closest together), six pairs of crop ceca, and a united gonopore. Additional sampling of specimens of the genus Alboglossiphonia is needed to understand its phylogeny especially as many species have not been collected since their description.

Microanalysis of Glass Fluid Storage Vials from The Invertebrate Zoology Collection at the National Museum of Natural History - Volume 27 Issue S1

Placobdella parasitica (Say, 1824) is one of the most commonly encountered turtle leeches in North America. Molecular analysis of individuals of P. parasitica representing various populations throughout its range in North America using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, revealed the presence of nine distinct groups: (1) P. parasitica sensu stricto containing members, including the neotype specimen, occurring broadly throughout the central United States westward from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and throughout southern Ontario, Canada, and the upper midwestern United States as far east as New York State; (2) West Virginia; (3) Mississippi/Alabama; (4) Northeast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont; (5) New England, including Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; (6) North Carolina/West Virginia; (7) South Carolina; (8) Tennessee; and (9) Florida. Both neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood analyses recovered an east-west split along the Appalachian Mountains with groups 1–3 clustering together and groups 4–9 clustering separately, with the exception of group 8 (Tennessee) that placed with the eastern groups. Group 1 includes specimens from a broad geographic distribution, yet with relatively low genetic variation, a pattern observed in other glossiphoniid species in North America. The groups with members east of the Appalachian Mountains are more tightly clustered by locality. This leech species is known to parasitize several turtle species, including Chrysemys picta, the painted turtle that originated in the central Gulf Coast region and dispersed northward representing a recolonization after Pleistocene glaciation. The neighbor-joining tree and pairwise distance data could suggest that P. parasitica has a similar phylogeographic pattern and dispersal history with its turtle hosts. In view of the morphological uniformity among the various groups, P. parasitica is provisionally considered to be a widely distributed, molecularly variable species.

Placodella michiganensis (Sawyer, 1972) was originally described from free-living individuals collected from Mill Creek, St. Joseph County, Michigan, USA. The acquisition of contemporary specimens from its type locality has facilitated redescription of P. michiganensis. Placobdella michiganensis does not have a confusing taxonomic history like many other members of the genus Placobdella as it has only been collected two other times since its description. Placodella michiganensis is distinguished from its congeners by its five rows of whitish single-tipped papillae, genital and pre-anal patches, five pre-anal papillae, and absence of a dark dorsal-medial line. Placobdella michiganensis is a morphologically distinct species with a 16.0% to 22.0% difference in cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data among congeners.

Placobdella pediculataHemingway, 1908 was originally described from individuals that were attached to Aplodinotus grunniens (freshwater drum) in Lake Pepin, Minnesota, USA. Apparently, no type material was deposited. The acquisition of contemporary specimens from its type host in the type locality facilitated redescription of P. pediculata. Placobdella pediculata is different from its congeners in that its caudal sucker is extended from the body by a pedicel (peduncle), bears digitate processes near the rim of the caudal sucker, a smooth body surface, and its anal placement (few annuli anteriad of the caudal sucker). Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data from P. pediculata revealed differences of 13.8% to 17.4% among congeners. Placobdella pediculata is a distinct species.