Do Wild and Aquacultural Alien Leeches of the Genus Barbronia (Hirudinea: Salifidae) Belong to Barbronia weberi? Evidence from Morocco and Ukraine

Invasive species are a major threat to the world's biodiversity and cause costly damage to the economy and the environment. Recent field surveys in northern Morocco have led to the discovery of the Asian leech Barbronia weberi (Blanchard 1897), providing the first evidence of its occurrence in freshwater ecosystems of North Africa, based on both morphological evidence and genetic data obtained from COI DNA barcoding. This exotic species was discovered across two river basins, indicating a wide distribution in Morocco. In addition, we provide the first record of B. weberi in Ukraine, where the species was detected in a freshwater aquarium, emphasizing the role of the ornamental plant and pet trade in the global spread of alien species. Both leeches were clustered within a species-level monophyletic group, corresponding to B. weberi. Size differences between wild and aquacultural B. weberi leeches may be attributed to phenotypic plasticity. Monitoring the Asian leech within invaded areas is essential to improve our understanding of its potential impact on native freshwater communities.