| Author | Elliott, J.M. & Mann, K.H. |
| Year | 1979 |
| Title | A Key to British Freshwater Leeches |
| ISBN | 900386 38 X |
| Series | FBA Scientific Publication |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | Covers all UK species known at the time |
| Source | FBA Scientific Publication , No. 40, 3 edition, 72pp, Freshwater Biological Association |
| Illustrations | Copious line drawings and a single colour plate |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | A dichotomous key to the adult species with copious line drawings, and chapters on biology, life history etc. There is also a short chapter on the identification of leech coccoons. |
| Examine |  with x15 or x20 hand lens |
| Specimen Preparation | Living leeches may be anaesthetized in soda water and then examined while held between two microscope slides. Large black leeches may need to be killed and bleached for 20 mins in 5% KOH. |
| Identification difficulty | Adult leech identification uses the position of the eyes, and once these are seen it is straightforward. Coccoons are harder. |
