Chordodes tuberculatus Linstow, 1901

De Villalobos, Cristina, Zanca, Fernanda & Schmidt‐Rhaesa, Andreas, 2007, Revision of the genus Chordodes (Gordiida, Nematomorpha) from Africa-III: ultrastructural redescription of Chordodes capensis Camerano, 1895, C. clavatus Linstow, 1906, C. digitatus Linstow, 1901, C. tuberculatus Linstow, 1901, and reinterpretation of C. ibembensis Sciacchitano, 1958 and C. uncinatus Sciacchitano, 1958, Journal of Natural History 41 (45 - 48), pp. 2775-2788 : 2785-2787

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930701754855
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F11EDC08-BB2B-1A4D-FE3C-FD5AD959FD37
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Chordodes tuberculatus Linstow, 1901
status

Treatment

( Figure 6 View Figure 6 )

Chordodes tuberculatus Linstow 1901, p 417 , Figure 17.

Material

Holotype: 1 „ from Tanzania, lake Malawi (original location as lake Nyassa , near Langenburg) (collected at 160 m altitude) ( ZMB Vermes 4021).

Material examined. Holotype, SEM from midbody and posterior end.

Host

Unknown.

Description

The body colour is medium brown with numerous darker brown patches all over the body (‘‘leopard pattern’’; see Schmidt-Rhaesa et al. 2003). Measurement of the body length is 195 mm and the diameter is 0.48 mm. The posterior end ( Figure 6A View Figure 6 ) is round and wide (223 mm). The cloacal opening ( Figure 6A, B View Figure 6 ) is slit-like (73.1 mm long) and is surrounded by slender spines (circumcloacal spines). The cloacal opening is situated ventrally at 126.9 mm distance from the posterior margin of the body. Around the cloacal opening, the cuticle is smooth and structured by fine furrows into irregularly shaped compartments. Lateral to the cloacal opening are two rows of bristles called bristlefields ( Figure 6A, C View Figure 6 ). The bristlefields are up to 77 mm long.

The body cuticle contains three areolar types ( Figure 6D–F View Figure 6 ). Simple areoles ( Figure 6E, F View Figure 6 ) are rounded or oval, low (9.1 mm high), and have a surface covered with short bristles. Scattered among these areoles are tubercle areoles that carry an eccentric finger-like tubercle (10.9 mm long). The most prominent type of areole is elevated (14.5–17.8 mm high) with several short apical filaments (crowned areoles) ( Figure 6D–F View Figure 6 ). Crowned areoles appear clustered in groups very close together or more or less isolated from each other.

Comments

In the original description, Linstow (1901) considered the holotype of C. tuberculatus to be female, but reinvestigation reveals it to be male (see Figure 6 View Figure 6 ). It is possible that Linstow (1901) erroneously determined the holotype as female due to the fact that it is unusual for males to have the posterior end round and wide. Linstow (1901) described the cuticule of C. tuberculatus with four areolar types. The first areolar type described by Linstow corresponds to the simple areoles described here. The areoles described by Linstow (1901) as types 2 and 3 are considered to crowned areoles, while his type 4 corresponds to tubercle areoles. Camerano (1915), on the basis of Linstow’s (1901) figures, stated that the elevated type 2 and 3 areoles are arranged in groups, corresponding with the dark spots of the cuticle. Present observations agree with Camerano (1915), numerous groups of crowned areoles are visualized as superficial spots.