FIRST NORTH-AMERICAN RECORD OF THE MARINE LEECH NOTOSTOMUM LAEVE (ANNELIDA, HIRUDINEA)

The Arctic marine leech Notostomum laeve is reported for the first tim e from North America. A single, small specimen was collected in April 1990 on the external surface of 1 of 30 Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides from Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, Northwest Terri tories, Canada. Total length of the specimen including suckers is 41 m m; maximum body width is 1.8 mm. The species is easily identified by t he unusual suckers. The caudal sucker is divided into 2 lateral halves that appear to close somewhat like a clam shell; the oral sucker is v ery thick and muscular with a row of small, hard teethlike papillae ar ound the outer margin. On the basis of this report from northern Canad a, N. laeve probably has a circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocea n.