Loffienema Shah, Allie, Vaid & Handoo, 2018

Abolafia, Joaquín, 2023, A proposal to synonymize Loffienema with Haematozoon, Quercorhabditis with Diploscapteroides, and Stegorhabditis with Stomachorhabditis (Nematoda Rhabditida, Rhabditomorpha), including keys to species identification, Zootaxa 5258 (2), pp. 231-238 : 231-232

Loffienema Shah, Allie, Vaid & Handoo, 2018

Genus characterized by having tubular stoma with poorly developed valvular apparatus, pharynx with swollen metacorpus, female reproductive system didelphic-amphidelphic, female tail conoid-elongate, male tail leptoderan with anteriorly open bursa with reduced velum having spaced bursal papillae, appearing one genital papillae very anterior to bursa (1+3/2+2+2), and spicules with rounded manubrium, very narrow calamus and fusiform lamina. This morphology agrees perfectly with the members of the genus Haematozoon Leisering, 1865 , which was restored by Sudhaus (2011), especially with H. subulatum ( Leisering, 1865) Sudhaus, 2011 described by Osche (1952) as Rhabditis (Telorhabditis) inermiformis Osche, 1952 , its junior synonym.

The authors that propose the creation of the Loffienema genera did not compare their species with the members of the genus Haematozoon , which agrees perfectly, having identical stoma, spicules, bursa and genital papillae arrangement, its main diagnostic characters. These authors drawn spicules with heart-like manubrium but this character is no visible in the light microscopy pictures provided by them, being clearly rounded (Fig. 2H in Shah et al., 2018), Thus, Loffienema is proposed as a junior synonym of Haematozoon .

The only species described, L. dhanoriensis Shah, Allie, Vaid & Handoo, 2018 , is very similar to Haematozoon subulatum Leisering, 1865 described as Rhabditis inermiformis by Osche (1952) and as Rhabditoides zocchi by Marinari-Palmisano (1967), both their junior synonyms. However, its body size is smaller (784–841 µm in females and 773–792 µm in males vs 1500–2000 µm in type females and 1200–1500 µm in type males of Haematozoon subulatum, 1196 –2000 µm in females and 1265-1530 µm in males of R. inermiformis , and 937–1234 µm in females and 819–1089 µm in males of R. zochii ), shorter and wider stomatal tube (3.6 longer than wide vs 6.6 times in R. inermiformis and 8.5 times in R. zochii , unfortunately, this character was not illustrated in detail in the type population), and shorter spicules (46–47 µm vs 60–69 µm in R. inermiformis and 55–61 µm in R. zochii ). On the other hand, with respect to the second species of the genus, Haematozoon giardi ( Maupas, 1915) Sudhaus, 2011 , L. dhanoriensis also maintains smaller morphometry (1344–2030 µm in females, 1000–1573 µm in males, stomatal tube 8.8 times longer than wide, and spicules 52–57 µm). Although, L. dhanoriensis could be synonymized with some of these species, its smaller size makes it slightly different. Thus, the species is transferred to the genus Haematozoon as H. dhanoriense ( Shah, Allie, Vaid & Handoo, 2018) n. comb.