Enchodelus ponorensis, Popovici, 1995

Popovici, Iuliana, 1995, New Species Of Tubixaba And Enchodelus (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) From Romania, Nematologica 41, pp. 435-448 : 439-442

Enchodelus ponorensis sp. n.

( Fig. 3 A-D; measurements in Table II).

Female (n = 31): Body curved ventrad into open C-shape upon fixation. Cuticle 2.5-4.5 J.1mthick at midbody, 5-9 pm on dorsal side of tail and 7.5-12.5 pm on tail tip. The inner layer with very fine transverse striae. Lateral chord one-fourth of body diameter.

Lips rounded, distinctly set off by a constriction ( Fig. 3A, B ). Amphids stirrup-shaped, half the lip region width. Odontostyle long and narrow, 1.6 width oflip region, its aperture occupying one-sixth of its length. Odontophore 1.6 length odontostyle, with small swellings at its base, maximum flange width 4-5 J. 1m. Guiding ring "double", its fixed ring one head width from the anterior body end ( Fig. 3B ). The nerve ring surrounds the oesophagus at 35-46% of its length from anterior end. The oesophagus begins to widen at 53-63% of its length from anterior end. Cardia conoid-rounded, 12- 19 J.1mlong. Locations of oesophageal gland nuclei as follows (n = 18): DO = 60.3 (55.7-63); DN = 63.7 (59.5-66.7); DO-DN = 15 (11 -18 gm); SIN= 75 (72-76.8); S2N = 85.8 (82.8-89.7); S20 = 87.2 (84.5-91.3).

Reproductive system didelphic; gonads opposed, reflexed, oocytes in a single row. A weakly developed sphincter separates oviduct and uterus ( Fig. 3D ). No sperm, no eggs in the uteri. Vulva a transverse, pre-equatorial slit. Vagina with sclerotized walls, extends to half of the corresponding body width. Slightly sclerotized heart-shaped pieces at vulva-vagina junction.

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Tail bluntly conoid, 0.9-1.3 anal body widths long ( Fig. 3C ), with a pair of pores on each side. Rectum 1-1.3 and prerectum 3.2-7.5 anal body widths long.

Juvenile (third stage) (n = 2): L = 1.39-1.47 mm; a = 29.2-33.7; b = 4-4.2; c = 33.1-39.3; c' = 1.2-1.3; odontostyle = 17.5-19 pm; odontophore = 26-30 total stylet = 45-47.5 J. 1m; replacement odontostyle = 24.5 gum.

Female (into fourth-stage cuticle) (n = 1): L = 1.59 mm; a = 29; b = 4; c = 41.2; c' = 1.03; V = 48.3%; odontostyle = 23.7 gm; odontophore = 33.7 gm; total spear = 57.5 replaced odontostyle = 20 pm.

Male not found.

Differential diagnosis: Enchodelus ponorensis sp. n. is close to E. parateres Baqri & Jairajpuri, 1974 by the lip region set off, odontostyle over one head-width long, odontophore with weak basal flanges, and tail bluntly conoid, without saccate bodies. It differs from E. parateres by its longer body (1.69-2.07 mm vs 1.13-1.34 mm), longer odontostyle and odontophore (22.5-25 pm vs 20-23 Am, respectively 32-5-37.5 gum vs 22-28 pm), by lack of oesophageal-intestinal disc, by position of vulva, mostly pre-equatorial (44-51% vs 51 -53%), longer prerectum (3.2-7.5 vs 3.6-3.9), by shape of tail and lack of males.

Type habitat and locality: All type specimens collected in September, 1975; August, 1988; and July, 1991 from an alluvial typic vermic soil of a montane grassland, at 1000 m altitude, in the Poiana Ponor , Padis karstic region of the Bihor Mountains (Western Carpathians), Romania.

Type specimens: Holotype and three paratypes on slides no. 49995 and 49996 deposited in the Collection of the Natural Historical Museum " Gr. Antipa ", Bucharest, Romania. Three paratypes deposited in the Nematology Department, Agricultural University Wageningen, the Netherlands; one female in CNCN Ottawa, Canada; other paratypes deposited in the Department of Ecology, Biological Research Institute, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

The species name comes from the type locality name, the Ponor glade.

Figures

Fig. 3. Enchodelusponorensissp. n. A, Anterior part of body; B, Lateral view of head; C, Posterior end (female);D, Vulva, vaginal region and anterior genital branch.