ZME SCIENCE - Leeches are some of the most hated creatures in the world, even though most people rarely (if ever) see one. We even use the word as an insult. A leech is a parasite, someone who lives only to suck the blood from others.
But leeches deserve more respect. A newly described fossil, dated to 437 million years ago, shows that they were thriving long before the dinosaurs. An analysis of these remarkable remains suggests that the earliest leeches roamed the oceans, devouring soft-bodied invertebrates whole or siphoning their fluids.
“We don’t know nearly as much as we think we do,” said Karma Nanglu, a paleontologist at the University of California – Riverside, in a press release. “This paper is a reminder that the tree of life has deep roots, and we’re just beginning to map them. It’s a beautiful specimen. And it’s telling us something we didn’t expect.”