Paracrobeles Heyns, 1968

Boström, Sven & Holovachov, Oleksandr, 2015, Description of a new species of Paracrobeles Heyns, 1968 (Nematoda, Rhabditida, Cephalobidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA, European Journal of Taxonomy 117, pp. 1-11 : 2-3

Genus Paracrobeles Heyns, 1968

Type species

Paracrobeles laterellus Heyns, 1968

Diagnosis (emended after Holovachov et al. 2009)

Cuticle annulated,without distinctly annulated internal layer;annuli with longitudinal striation(tessellated). Lateral field with two wings (three or four incisures), ending near tail terminus in females and in males. Lip region weakly offset, consisting of six lips arranged in three pairs: one dorsal and two subventral. Pairs of lips separated by primary axils with one or two acute triangular guarding processes; secondary axils shallow. Cephalic probolae with three or four long and slender tines. Labial probolae deeply bifurcated without tines along the slender prongs. Six outer labial and four cephalic papilliform sensilla arranged in a cephaloboid manner. Amphidial aperture rounded, located on lateral lips. Stoma divided into cheilo-, gymno- and stegostom: cheilostom barrel-shaped, with strongly sclerotized bacilliform cheilorhabdia; gymnostom narrow tubular, as wide as stegostom, with weakly sclerotized plate-like gymnorhabdia; stegostom consists of a funnel-shaped prostegostom and variably shaped mesostego-, metastego- and telostegostom parts. Metastegostom tooth absent or present. Pharynx cephaloboid: pharyngeal procorpus cylindrical; metacorpus elongate bulbous; lumen of metacorpus often expanded to a large triradiate chamber with seemingly sclerotized lining; isthmus narrower than metacorpus; basal pharyngeal bulb oval, with strongly developed valves. Nerve ring encircling metacorpus, metacorpus-isthmus junction or anterior part of isthmus. Excretory pore opens at level of nerve ring. Deirids present. Female reproductive system cephaloboid; posterior part of ovary straight and relatively short; spermatheca present; postvulval uterine sac present; vulva flat with contour of body or in a depression; vagina straight or directed anteriad. Male reproductive system cephaloboid; spicules cephaloboid, with corpus and manubrium of approximately equal width; gubernaculum plate-like; cornua crurum absent. Male genital papillae: two ventrosublateral pairs located anterior to cloaca; one ventrosublateral pair located just posterior to cloacal opening; two pairs located at middle of tail length; and three pairs (lateral, subventral and subdorsal) near tail terminus; there is a midventral papilla on anterior cloacal lip. Rectum short (about as long as anal body diameter). Phasmid openings located at about one-third to half of tail length in both sexes. Female tail conoid, straight or slightly arcuate ventrad, tail terminus pointed or finely rounded; male tail conoid, slightly arcuate ventrad, tail terminus finely rounded.

Valid species

P. deserticola Abolafia, Divsalar, Panahi & Shokoohi, 2014

P. laterellus Heyns, 1968

P. mojavicus Taylor, Baldwin & Mundo-Ocampo, 2004

P. psammophilus Navarro & Lluch, 1999