New host and distribution record of Pontobdella macrothela (Schmarda, 1861) (Annelida, Hirudinea) from a Grey Reef Shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Bleeker, 1856), in Mozambique, Western Indian Ocean

Abstract

This report describes the first record of the piscicolid leech Pontobdella macrothela from Mozambique waters and the first record of P. macrothela parasitizing a Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos). The leech, P. macrothela, was found attached externally between the third and fourth gill slits of a shark captured off Vamizi Island, Quirimbas Archipelago, northern Mozambique.