Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42117820›Full record

ArticleBiology2026

Leech Diversity in the Maghreb (North Africa): A Checklist and a Case Report of Parasitism on a Berber Toad (

Noureddine Rabah-Sidhoum, Mehdi Boucheikhchoukh, Bouthaina Hasnaoui, Mohammed Lamine Bendjeddou, Konstantinos Kostas, Noureddine Mechouk, Michail Kotsyfakis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Noureddine Rabah-SidhoumInstitute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Mehdi BoucheikhchoukhDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Chadli Bendjedid El Tarf University, PB 73, El-Tarf 36000, Algeria.ORCID 0000-0003-2741-9314
Bouthaina HasnaouiRITMES (Risques Infectieux Tropicaux Microorganismes Émergents), Aix-Marseille University, APhM, 13005 Marseille, France.ORCID 0000-0002-2171-7823
Mohammed Lamine BendjeddouDepartment of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-8872-7276
Konstantinos KostasInstitute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Noureddine MechoukDepartment of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Michail KotsyfakisInstitute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 70013 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-7526-1876

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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

Indexed as

amphibiansHirudinealeechMaghreb

Identifiers

PMID42117820
PMCPMC13162912

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.