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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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Department of Invertebrate Zoology

Bloodsuckers!

A woman holding a jar with a leech inside of it
Anna Phillips, the Smithsonian’s Curator of Clitellata and parasitic worms, fell in love with leeches as an intern at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. (Paul Fetters for the Smithsonian)

Anna Phillips, curator of Clitellata and parasitic worms in Invertebrate Zoology, has been on a mission to make leeches a bit more palatable to a wider audience. In this episode of the Smithsonian's Sidedoor podcast, Anna takes us into the US National Parasite Collection at the Museum Support Center (MSC) to show us Grandma Moses, a Giant Amazon leech. At up to 18 inches in length, it is the largest leech in the world! From their roles as food sources in wetland ecosystems to bloodletting in early medicine, there's so much to appreciate about the leech.

Click here to listen to the podcast for the full story!