Newly Discovered Australian Leech Named After Author Amy Tan

Posted on January 22, 2016

A newly discovered tiny Australian leech has been named in honor of bestselling author Amy Tan. The scientific name of the leech is Chtonobdella tanae. The leech is the first soft-bodied animal to be described using computed tomography.

C. tanae is a terrestrial leech found in Queensland, Australia. It is about 1 centimeter long and only 2 millimeters wide. This made it too small for dissection so the CT scan method was used. The researchers used acetic acid and osmium tetroxide to make the leech show more contrast in the CT scan.

The leech was given the name Chtonobdella tanae in recognition of Amy Tan, author of the bestselling novel The Joy Luck Club. Mark Siddall, a curator in the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology and senior author of the study, says in a statement, "Amy, long a supporter of the work we do here, is someone we knew would consider it an honor, not an insult, to have a leech named for her. hese jungle leeches are mentioned several times in her hilarious novel Saving Fish from Drowning."

Author Amy Tan says, "I am thrilled to be immortalized as Chtonobdella tanae. This humble leech has looped across a new scientific threshold--the first microscopic soft-bodied critter to be described inside and out using CT scanning. Imagine the possibilities for identifying legions of tiny organisms that have thus far lived in obscurity. I am now planning my trip to Queensland, Australia, where I hope to take leisurely walks through the jungle, accompanied by a dozen or so of my namesake feeding on my ankles."

A research paper on the study can be found here in the journal, Zoologica Scripta. Here is a video showing the external and internal structure of the leech.

ANIMALS