[1][2][3] It is commonly called the horse-leech, but that is due to the similarity of its appearance to the leech Limnatis nilotica, which sometimes enters the nasal cavities of livestock.

[6] Typical habitats are in shallow parts of lakes, ponds, ditches and slow-moving rivers.

It feeds on insect larvae, fish eggs and fry, tadpoles, worms, other leeches,[4] and gastropods;[7] the prey is sucked in and swallowed whole.

A pair of leeches will line up with the clitellar regions in contact, and sperm is passes by the one acting as male to the female gonopore.

Some time later, several eggs are laid by the female, and these are wrapped in an albumin-filled cocoon that is secreted by the clitellum.