LEECHES are adapted by their structure and physiology to an ectoparasitic, blood-sucking mode of life. Some have secondarily become predators, but none has obvious adaptations to endoparasitism.

For the first time the medicinal leech Hirudo medicinalis has been bred in captivity at London zoo, part of a longer-term project to help this fascinating if unloved creature. Once widespread in ...

In this short film Dr Michael Mosley interviews a surgeon who is pioneering the use of leeches in medical research. He allows a leech to attach to his arm and suck his blood, the mouth of the ...

Instead of feeding on blood, it hunts down and devours worms, particularly the Kinabalu Giant Earthworm ( Pheretima darnleiensis ), which can grow up to 70cm (2.3 feet) long! As its name suggests, the ...

The leeches aren't too discriminating ... With everything that can get you out here, what's the point?" Mark is here to collect fresh specimens of H. ghilianii. Why? Well, even though these ...