Quercorhabditis rajouriensis, Shah, Ali Asghar, Hussain, Abid & Vaid, Shavish, 2013

Shah, Ali Asghar, Hussain, Abid & Vaid, Shavish, 2013, Description of Quercorhabditis rajouriensis gen. n., sp. n. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), Zootaxa 3630 (2), pp. 385-390 : 386

Quercorhabditis rajouriensis gen. n., sp. n.

( Figures 1 & 2 ; Table 1 )

Description. Female. Body small-sized, less than 0.6 mm in length, almost straight upon fixation, tapering at both extremities, more so towards the posterior end. Cuticle finely, transversely annulated and also longitudinally striated and punctate. Punctations small, dot-like. Lateral fields with three lines. Labial region prominent, symmetrical, set off by a constriction, wider than adjoining body. Lips six, separate each with small papilla. Amphidial apertures indistinct. Stoma long, tubular, 2.0–2.4 lip diameters long. Cheilostom heavily sclerotized, with arched rhabdions. Gymnostom with parallel walls. Stegostom isoglottoid, barely distinguishable. Pharyngeal collar tissue covering about 37–41% of stoma. Procorpus muscular, median bulb well defined. Isthmus cylindrical and muscular. Median bulb 1.6–1.7 lip diameters in width. Terminal bulb well developed, 1.8–2.0 lip diameters wide. Corpus 53–57% of pharyngeal length. Nerve ring encircling isthmus 88–95 µm from anterior end or at 58–61% of pharyngeal length. Excretory pore 98–103 µm from anterior end or at 63–78% of pharyngeal length. Cardia small. Intestine granulated, with wide lumen.

Reproductive system amphidelphic, anterior branch on right side, and posterior on left side of intestine. Ovaries reflexed. Oviduct simple. Spermatheca not differentiated. Uterus well developed with glandular and muscular parts. Vagina simple, less than half body diameter long. Vulva a transverse slit. Rectum 1.7–2 anal body diameters in length, anteriorly dilated. Tail of female elongate conoid, 3.6–4.3 anal body diameters long. Phasmids 0.3–0.6 anal body diameter behind anus.

Males. Body slender, arcuate, curved in posterior region. Morphologically similar to females. Testis single, ventrally reflexed. Spicules large, almost straight, with a free dorsal arm. Gubernaculum somewhat boat-shaped, 59–62% of spicule length. Bursa leptoderan, open. Ten pairs of bursal papillae, in a 3+4+3 arrangement.

Type material. Holotype male, three paratype females and one paratype male on slides Quercorhabditis rajouriensis gen. n., sp. n., deposited in the nematode collection of the Centre for Biodiversity Studies, School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri. One paratype female at the Instituut voor Dierkunde, Rijksuniversitat, Gent, Belgium.

Etymology. The species name is based on the name of the collection site.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Quercorhabditis rajouriensis gen. n., sp. n. A. Entire Female; B. Entire male; C. Anterior end; D. Pharyngeal region; E. Female genital tract; F. Male posterior region; G. Female tail; H. Lateral lines.

FIGURE 2. Quercorhabditis rajouriensis gen. n, sp. n. A. Pharyngeal region; B – E Stoma showing heavily cuticularized cheilostom; F. Pharyngeal region showing excretory pore; G. Female genital tract; H. Testis; I. Rectum; J. Female posterior region (arrows showing phasmids). K. Male posterior region showing spicules and gubernaculum; L – M. Male posterior region showing caudal papillae (arrow showing dorsal arm in spicules); N. Lateral lines; O. Punctations.