Erpobdella obscura is a freshwater ribbon leech common in North America.

In Minnesota, live bait dealers annually harvest over 45,000 kg of bait-leeches, raising concerns of over-harvest.

The dorsal surface is irregularly marked with dark blotches but it does not have the two longitudinal rows of black spots characteristic of Erpobdella punctata, another common North American species.

[5] In some areas, Erpobdella obscura has a semelparous life history, i.e., the leech dies after reproduction.

[6][7] It is not a blood-sucking leech but is a predator on a range of other invertebrates including amphipods, water fleas, copepods, worms and gastropod molluscs.