美国国家公共电台 NPR A New Bloodsucking Leech Species Found Hiding Outside Washington, D.C.

 

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It looks a bit like a very mini version of the creature from the "Alien" movies. It's olive green with three jaws², over 50 teeth, and it sucks blood. It's Macrobdella mimicus, a newly discovered species of leech³ uncovered in the swamps of Charles County, Md.

Anna Phillips, curator of parasitic⁴ worms at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, led the team that made the discovery. She's in the field and joins us from Connecticut.

Welcome to the program, Anna.

ANNA PHILLIPS: Thanks so much.

FADEL: So tell us about this critter.

PHILLIPS: It's the first time we've described a new medicinal leech species from North America in 40 years. And it has a number of characteristics that make it as a new - considered a new species.

FADEL: What's up with the three jaws? Is this common?

PHILLIPS: Most leeches⁵ in this group and other groups have three jaws, but the number of teeth in those jaws is more variable.

FADEL: So why three jaws? What do they need them for?

PHILLIPS: Jaws are held internally, and when they're interested in feeding, they'll spread their mouth out to create a sucker, kind of like a suction cup on a window. And then they push the jaws out. And the jaw¹ - they're muscular and lined with teeth. And they move the jaws back and forth⁶ to create the wounds in the teeth. And then that sucker helps suck the blood from the wound.

FADEL: That does not sound comfortable.

PHILLIPS: Really, you don't feel it. I mean, most of the time, you're standing⁷ in water; you're surrounded by plants; you're probably not paying attention. And it may feel like a little bit of an itch⁸, if anything, but I can see how it's really unnerving to people to be minding your own business, standing in water, and then look down and find a large bloodsucking worm on you.

FADEL: (Laughter) And that's how you discovered the leech - by getting it to bite you.

PHILLIPS: Well, usually, I try to catch them before they actually bite. And also, you can see them swimming through the water, but sometimes it's inevitable⁹.

FADEL: So what does the leech actually look like? How big is it?

PHILLIPS: It varies in size - maybe an inch long. Some of the largest specimens¹⁰ can be between 6 and 8 inches long. But really, leeches stretch, so it's kind of hard to estimate.

FADEL: So this is the first new find of a medicinal leech in North America since 1975. What is a medicinal leech?

PHILLIPS: So a medicinal leech is a common name that we use for leeches that feed on humans...

FADEL: Oh.

PHILLIPS: ...And have anticoagulants that could be used in modern medicine. Leeches have these anticoagulants in their saliva¹¹. So when they bite, that causes the blood to flow and for the blood to stay liquid inside the leech once it's eaten it. And this has been used in medicine for many, many years. It was most popular in the 17, 1800s in Western medicine, and it's even used today in modern medicine. Leeches are approved medical device in the United States, and they're used readily.

FADEL: Tell me about your collection method. How did you find this three-jawed leech?

PHILLIPS: These leeches feed on blood, and they predominantly are probably eating blood of amphibians¹², for the most part - amphibians and fish and, occasionally, mammals. And whenever a human comes into the swamp, they will feed on them as well.

FADEL: Uh-oh.

PHILLIPS: So our collection method is to roll up our (unintelligible), wear water sandals and wade¹³ in about knee-deep, make a little bit of movement, stir up the vegetation in the mud and...

FADEL: That sounds terrifying.

PHILLIPS: (Laughter) It's not for everybody.

FADEL: Anna Phillips of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Her team's findings were published in the August 15 issue of the Journal of Parapsychology.

Thanks so much for speaking with us.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for having me.

1 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

2 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

3 leech   

n.水蛭，吸血鬼，榨取他人利益的人；vt.以水蛭吸血；vi.依附于别人

参考例句：

• A leech is a small blood-sucking worm and usually lives in water.水蛭是一种小型吸血虫，通常生活在水中。
• One-side love like a greedy leech absorbed my time and my mirth.单相思如同一只贪婪的水蛭，吸走了我的时间和欢笑。

4 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

5 leeches   

n.水蛭( leech的名词复数 )；蚂蟥；榨取他人脂膏者；医生

参考例句：

• The usurers are leeches;they have drained us dry. 高利贷者是吸血鬼，他们吸干了我们的血汗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Does it run in the genes to live as leeches? 你们家是不是遗传的，都以欺压别人为生？ 来自电影对白

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。

9 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

10 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

12 amphibians   

两栖动物( amphibian的名词复数 )； 水陆两用车； 水旱两生植物； 水陆两用飞行器

参考例句：

• The skin of amphibians is permeable to water. 两栖动物的皮肤是透水的。
• Two amphibians ferry them out over the sands. 两辆水陆两用车把他们渡过沙滩。

13 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。