Question

Which of the following is true for leeches?
A) They are all unsegmented
B) They are endoparasites
C) They have a reduced coelom
D) They are found in seawater, fresh water, and moist soil.

Answer 1

Hint: Leeches are commonly seen as objects to provide shock value in various motion pictures. When characters wade through marshy areas, they end up with leeches attached to their skin which drop off or are smoked off.

Complete answer:
The correct answer is option D. leeches are found in a wide range of environments requiring a lot of water. They can survive both fresh and saline water but are more commonly found in freshwater. Interestingly, true land leeches specifically feed on the blood of mammals. They inject a thinner into the bloodstream of the host so that it flows more freely and doesn’t clot. This is also why you may bleed for a while after the animal falls off. They can range in size from 1 to 30 cm depending on the species.
A is incorrect. Leeches are true segmented worms. Which are from the phylum Annelida.
They are parasites and attach to warm blooded animals through their mouth parts and suck the blood of the host. However, they do not enter the host, and are therefore ectoparasites. Option B is therefore incorrect.
Leeches may have a slightly denser body than many annelids, but they do have a coelomic cavity, even if it is reduced in size. Option C is also incorrect.

Hence the correct answer is OPTION(D)

Note: Leeches have been used in medicine for centuries. Before allopathy developed, they were commonly considered to be removing the bad blood. Patients often suffered huge blood loss because of this. Nowadays they are often used to create artificial veins.