Leech on pavement

[tylervirgo]

Hi there this morning i discovered a leech on the pavement outside my home which is a long way away from an obvious water supply though there was strong rain. I really do not know with the leech as I do not know its natural habitat. I have heard a lot of leeches live in water but i dont know about this one, please advise asap.

[jonny.go.go]

Hi As far as I am aware native species of leech live only in freshwater. Chances are it was dropped by a bird, or perhaps dropped off its lunch at the wrong moment.

Jonny

[nightshade]

After heavy rain leeches do appear apparently from nowhere
and loop along in a most determined manner birds or domestic
ponds are probably the source

[tylervirgo]

Thankyou for your advice made sure he arrived safely to a nearby stream first thing this morning.

[Tiggrx]

There are a few species of land leech of the genus Trocheta which generally live in the soil and are rarely seen. Horse Leeches (Haemopis sanguisuga) also frequently are found a little way from water.

Another possibly to look at is some of the alien flatworm, such as the New Zealand Flatworm or the Australian Flatworm which are superficially leech-like.