---
title: "Mediterranean Medicinal Leech"
description: "Hirudo verbana — Andere dieren. Hirudo verbana is a species of leech."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/mediterranean-medicinal-leech
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Mediterranean Medicinal Leech

> Hirudo verbana — Andere dieren. Hirudo verbana is a species of leech.

- Scientific name: *Hirudo verbana*
- Category: `other` (Andere dieren)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Meren en rivieren)
- iNaturalist observations: 192
- Wikidata: [Q1352793](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1352793)
- iNaturalist taxon: [505579](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/505579)

## Names

- en: Mediterranean Medicinal Leech
- de: Mediterraner Medizinischer Blutegel
- fr: Sangsue médicinale méditerranéenne

## Countries with the most observations

IT (27), HU (18), AT (16), UA (14), HR (12), GR (11), ME (9), DE (7), RU (7), PL (6), RO (5), AL (3)

## Summary

Hirudo verbana is a species of leech.
Hirudo verbana has long been used as a medicinal leech under the species H. medicinalis, but has recently been recognized as a separate species distinct from the traditional or European medicinal leech of that name.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirudo_verbana

## Photo

![Mediterranean Medicinal Leech](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/mediterranean-medicinal-leech/medium.jpg)

Photo: ÖkopatóPál · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/206930771

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/mediterranean-medicinal-leech?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).