The study of leeches from Lake Gusinoe and its adjacent area offered us the possibility to determine species diversity. As a result, an updated species list of the Gusinoe Hirudinea fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) has been compiled. There are two orders and three families of leeches in the Gusinoe area: order Rhynchobdellida (families Glossiphoniidae and Piscicolidae) and order Arhynchobdellida (family Erpobdellidae). In total, 6 leech species belonging to 6 genera have been identified. Of these, 3 taxa belonging to the family Glossiphoniidae (Alboglossiphonia heteroclita f. papillosa, Hemiclepsis marginata, andHelobdella stagnalis) and representatives of 3 unidentified species (Glossiphoniasp.,Piscicolasp., andErpobdellasp.) have been recorded. The checklist gives a contemporary overview of the species composition of leeches and information on their hosts or substrates. The validity of morphological identification of each taxon has been verified by phylogenetic approach with a molecular marker adopted for a DNA barcoding of most invertebrates.

In this paper, the very first checklist of the freshwater leeches of Maloe More Strait, a special part of Lake Baikal, is presented. It includes 14 free-living and parasitic species, of which four species belong to endemic Baikal genera – two species from Baicalobdella and one species each from Baicaloclepsis and Codonobdella. The checklist highlights six potentially new morphological species recorded for the first time in the area. The exact systematic position is stated for all leech species. Each species from the list is provided with information on taxonomic synonymy, data on its geographic distribution, and ecological characteristics. New species records are additionally provided with brief morphological characteristics and photos of their external morphology.

The study of several Lake Baikal leech collections offered us the possibility to determine species diversity in the Chivyrkuy Gulf, the biggest one in the lake. As a result, the first information on the Chivyrkuy Hirudinea fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) has been revealed. There are two orders and four families of leeches in the Chivyrkuy Gulf: order Rhynchobdellida (families Glossiphoniidae and Piscicolidae) and order Arhynchobdellida (families Erpobdellidae and Haemopidae). In total, 22 leech species and 2 subspecies belonging to 11 genera were identified. Of these, 4 taxa belong to the family Glossiphoniidae (G. concolor, A. hyalina, A. heteroclita f. papillosa, and A. heteroclita f. striata) recorded in Baikal for the first time. Representatives of 8 unidentified species (Glossophinia sp., Baicaloclepsis sp., Baicalobdella sp., Piscicola sp. 1, Piscicola sp. 2, Erpobdella sp. 1, Erpobdella sp. 2, and Erpobdella sp. 3) have been also recorded. The checklist gives a contemporary overview of the species composition of leech parasites, their hosts, and distribution within the Chivyrkuy Gulf. The analysis of spatial distribution has shown that the leech species diversity is correlated with the biological productivity of the bay. The most diverse community of leech species is detected in the eutrophic zone of the lake.