This is something... fascinating and scary I learnt today!
It's about leeches. Not hive leeches, but literal leeches 馃珷馃檭
I always imagined leeches to be annoying little blood suckers. I have only seen them in Hollywood films after all and don't have much interest about them so my knowledge is limited on the subject.
Well, not all leeches are created equal as today I learnt that there's a leech species out there that grows to be almost half a fucking meter long! Wtf!
Meet Haementeria ghilianii, commonly known as the giant Amazon leech. Cause it's gigantic. And from Amazon. Duh.
The species is endemic to the northern portions of the Amazon river, ranging from Venezuela and the Guianas.
As for size, they grow to be 45 cm (17.7 in) long with a width of up to 10 mm (3.9 in). Wikipedia has some other cool numbers. For example
the male reproductive system is 3 g (0.0066 lb) to 5 g (0.011 lb) while the female reproductive system is 10 g (0.022 lb)
Yeah, dunno why they included that. I have never seen wiki entries on animals mentioning dick size. That author over delivered 馃崒 馃崒馃崒馃槀馃槀馃槀
In case you wonder, yes humans are a compatible host 馃檭
Something else notable other than their size is their feeding mechanism. Instead of using sharp jaws like other leeches do, this species uses a long, retractable proboscis to pierce the skin and extract blood.
Here's another cool photo I found:
Damnnnnnnnnnnn, nature you scary 馃
Unfortunately I couldn't find any more photos, let alone videos, but you can visit Wikipedia if you'd like to learn a bit more.
There's also this archived article with some more info.
Ok, that's it for today. See you with more crazy wonders of nature soon 馃珷
