Observations on three species of branchiobdellid (Annelida: Clitellata) worms from eastern Asia

Three jars from the Hamburg Museum contained specimens of Branchiobdella minuta, presumably from the original Pierantoni (1912) material, and Cirrodrilus cirratus and C. uchidai from Yamaguchi's (1932a) collection. The head of a syntype of B. minuta was described and B. cheni becomes its junior subjective synonym. One specimen each of C. cirratus and C. uchidai was sectioned and described, particularly the male genitalia. The diet of all three branchiobdellids consists of microorganisms. In Cirrodrilus sp. basic protein granules were demonstrated in the gland cells of the intestine and its chloragogen cells. The peristomial and lateral epidermal gland cell secretions were characterized histochemically.