Loffienema dhanoriensis, Shah & Allie & Vaid & Handoo, 2018

Shah, Li. A., Allie, Kaisar Ahmad, Vaid, Shavish & Handoo, Zafar A., 2018, Description of Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) from Jammu and Kashmir State, India, Zootaxa 4402 (1), pp. 189-194 : 190

Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n.

( Figures 1 & 2 ; Table 1)

Description. Female. Body less than 1 mm long, straight to slightly arcuate upon fixation, tapering at both ends, more so at posterior end. Cuticle finely, annulated transversely and striated longitudinally. Lateral fields with four lines. Labial region 8-9µm wide, symmetrical, set off by a constriction, wider than adjoining body. Lips six, separate, labial papillae small, not well differentiated. Amphidial apertures postlabial, 1.2–1.3 lip diameters behind the labial region. Stoma long, tubular, evenly cuticularized, 1.8–1.9 lip diameters long. Cheilostom simple, not cuticularized; gymnostom long with parallel walls. Stegostom isoglottoid, weakly developed, each plate with a pair of setose denticles. Pharyngeal collar tissue covering 52–56% of stoma. Procorpus well-developed, muscular; median bulb 19–21 µm wide or 2–2.1 lip diameters wide. Isthmus cylinder and muscular. Terminal bulb well developed, 2.4–2.5 lip diameters wide. Corpus 57–60% of pharyngeal length. Nerve ring encircling isthmus 100– 108µm from anterior end or at 65–66% of pharyngeal length. Excretory pore at level of middle of isthmus 114– 116µm from anterior end, 69–70% of pharyngeal length. Cardia small. Intestine granulated, with wide lumen. Reproductive system amphidelphic; anterior branch on right and posterior on left side of the intestine. Ovaries reflexed, oocytes arranged in two or more rows in the germinal zone. 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 1.1–1.3 anal-body diameter long, anteriorly dilated. Tail long, filiform, 5–6.7 anal body diameter long. Phasmids 1.6–1.8 anal body diam. behind anus.

Males: Morphology similar to females, but smaller in size. Body slender, arcuate, curved in posterior region upon fixation. Testis single, dorsally reflexed. Spicules slender, separate, almost straight. Gubernaculum spathulate, proximally broad with blunt distal tip, 55–58% of spicule length. Bursa leptoderan, reduced, barely discernible. Caudal papillae eight pairs, three pairs pre-and five pairs post-cloacal. The first pair lies well anterior to the spicules; the seventh pair of caudal papillae are dorsally curved. Caudal papillae are arranged in a 1+1+1/ 1+1+1+2 pattern. Tail short and conoid.

Type material: Holotype: Female on slide Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n. /1; deposited in the nematode collection of the Centre for Biodiversity Studies , School of Biosciences and Biotechnology , Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Paratypes: Females and males on slide Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n. /2-5; deposited in the nematode collection of Centre for Biodiversity Studies, School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri.

Habitat and Locality: From soil mixed with mature compost, Biodiversity Park, BGSB University , Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Etymology: The genus name is derived from its spathulate shape of gubernaculum (German word “löffel (spoon)” for “spathulate”). The species name refers to the type locality, Dhanore.

Figures

FIGURE 1: Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n. (A) Entire male, (B) Entire female, (C) Anterior end, (D) Pharyngeal region, (E)Female genital tract, (F)Female posterior region, (G)Male posterior region (lateral) & (H) Male tail (dorsoventral).

FIGURE 2: Loffienema dhanoriensis gen. n., sp. n. (A) Pharyngeal region, (B) Stoma, (C) & (D) Female genital tract, (E) & (F) Male posterior region showing bursal rays, (G) & (H) Male posterior region showing gubernaculum and spicule, (I) Male tail (dorsoventral) & (J) Female tail.