By Liz Hobday

Museum-goers can sink their teeth into an exhibition showcasing animal species that want to suck your blood.

Opening on Thursday, the Bloodsuckers: Nature’s Vampires exhibition at the Australian Museum in Sydney shows off some of the more than 30,000 species that have evolved to drink blood.

They range from the usual suspects such as vampire bats and mosquitoes, to many animals you may not have heard of, including Oxpeckers and Candiru Catfish.

Among more than 100 attractions is a giant anatomical model of a leech, showing how these bloodthirsty creatures attach to the skin using three prong-like jaws covered in hundreds of teeth.

It’s a large-scale model, or maybe not … the giant Amazon leech, for example, can grow to about 50cm and its blood-sucking proboscis to 15cm.

The show was originally developed by the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Sydney version also features a special collection of Australia’s bloodthirsty insect species.

Some of these animals might give people the creeps but they have mastered the art of survival in impressive ways, said Australian Museum director Kim McKay.

“We’re inviting people to look beyond the misconceptions and engage with the science that shapes our world,” she said.

Mosquitoes can spread illnesses such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever, and ticks spread a variety of infections including Lyme disease.

But not all these bloodsuckers deserve their reputations: leeches, for example, have anticoagulants in their saliva and have been used in medicine for thousands of years.

Blood Suckers: Nature’s Vampires runs from Thursday until October 11.