Cylicobdellidae Haemadipsidae Haemopidae Hirudinidae Macrobdellidae Praobdellidae Semiscolecidae Xerobdellidae Gnathobdellae Gnathobdellida Vaillant, 1890 (but see text) The Hirudiniformes are one of the currently-accepted suborders of the proboscisless leeches (Arhynchobdellida).

But this does not represent a natural division, as has now been determined - the most primitive proboscisless leeches are not found among the jawed blood-sucking forms as was generally believed, but among the jawless predators.

[citation needed] "Jawed leeches" - termed "Gnathobdellae" or "Gnathobdellida" - are exclusively found among the Hirudiniformes, but the order contains a number of jawless families as well.

The jawed, toothed forms make up the aquatic Hirudidae and the terrestrial Haemadipsidae and Xerobdellidae (sometimes included in the preceding but worthy of recognition as an independent family).

These might actually form a clade, which would then be placed at superfamily rank,[1] but it seems that the Hirudidae might rather be close relatives of the carnivorous Haemopidae instead.