{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T16:02:36Z","timestamp":1777737756846,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":124,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,26]],"date-time":"2026-04-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777161600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Leeches (Hirudinea) are ecologically important annelids that interact with a wide range of aquatic vertebrates, yet their diversity, distribution, and epidemiological relevance remain poorly documented in North Africa. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of freshwater and marine leech species reported from the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco), based on an extensive review of the available literature. In total, 21 species belonging to 13 genera and four families (Glossiphoniidae, Erpobdellidae, Hirudinidae, and Piscicolidae) are documented, with updated information on their ecology, host associations, and geographic distribution. In addition to this regional checklist, we report the first confirmed case of Batracobdella algira heavy parasitism on the Berber toad (Sclerophrys mauritanica) in Algeria. A single adult toad was found heavily infested by multiple leeches (n = 17), some of which bore spermatophores attached near the reproductive opercula, suggesting possible in situ mating behavior on the host. The high infestation observed in this single specimen may constitute an outlier, requiring further sampling to assess the effect of leeches on the anuran population in the region. By integrating faunistic data with a novel field observation, this study highlights the overlooked leech biodiversity in the Maghreb and suggests their possible ecological and epidemiological significance. Our findings emphasize the need for further investigations into leech\u2013host interactions, pathogen carriage, and their implications for amphibian conservation and One Health in North Africa.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology15090681","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T10:34:42Z","timestamp":1777458882000},"page":"681","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Leech Diversity in the Maghreb (North Africa): A Checklist and a Case Report of Parasitism on a Berber Toad (Sclerophys mauritanica) in Algeria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Noureddine","family":"Rabah-Sidhoum","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece"},{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid El Tarf University, PB 73, El-Tarf 36000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2741-9314","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mehdi","family":"Boucheikhchoukh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid El Tarf University, PB 73, El-Tarf 36000, Algeria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2171-7823","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bouthaina","family":"Hasnaoui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RITMES (Risques Infectieux Tropicaux Microorganismes \u00c9mergents), Aix-Marseille University, APhM, 13005 Marseille, France"},{"name":"Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, 19-21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8872-7276","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Lamine","family":"Bendjeddou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea M\u0103n\u0103\u0219tur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Kostas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Noureddine","family":"Mechouk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea M\u0103n\u0103\u0219tur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7526-1876","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michail","family":"Kotsyfakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1007\/s10750-007-9010-8","article-title":"Global diversity of leeches (Hirudinea) in freshwater","volume":"595","author":"Sket","year":"2008","journal-title":"Hydrobiologia"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"318","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijppaw.2020.09.003","article-title":"Leeches in the extreme: Morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to inhospitable habitats","volume":"12","author":"Phillips","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. 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