Desmodora bilacinia Leduc & Zhao, 2016

Leduc, Daniel, 2024, Four new free-living marine nematode species (Plectida: Ceramonematidae) and two new species records (Desmodorida: Desmodorinae) from Rangitāhua / Kermadec Islands, Aotearoa / New Zealand, European Journal of Taxonomy 970, pp. 138-174 : 171

Desmodora bilacinia Leduc & Zhao, 2016

Fig. 14 , Table 4

Diagnosis

Desmodora bilacinia is characterised by eight longitudinal rows of somatic setae of medium length (3–8 μm), eight subcephalic setae present on cephalic capsule, unispiral amphidial fovea, males with two precloacal supplements consisting of thin, rounded cuticular extensions and two rows of thick subventral setae extending from precloacal supplements to near tail tip, and non-annulated tail tip with perforations covering anterior third to two-thirds.

Material examined

NEW ZEALAND • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Kermadec Islands , Raoul Island (off Western Spring); 29.22992° S, 177.96448° W; depth 16 m; 22 Nov. 2021; coarse sand and gravel sediments, voyage TMOR2021 , station 85; NIWA 154954 .

Type habitat and locality

Coarse sand and gravel sediments under a small boulder, lower intertidal zone, Greta Point, Wellington, New Zealand (174.80251° E, 41.30442° S).

Remarks

The male Raoul Island specimens agrees well with the description of the species based on the Wellington specimens by Leduc & Zhao (2016) in almost all respects. The Raoul Island specimens, however, are characterised by smaller ratio of c (11–15 vs 16–25 in the Wellington specimens) as well as somewhat larger amphids (in males: 52–62 vs 49–52% wide in the Wellington specimens; in females: 42 vs 35– 40% cbd in the Wellington specimens) ( Table 4 ).

Figures

Fig. 14. Desmodora bilacinia Leduc & Zhao, 2016 (NIWA 154954). A. Entire male. B. Entire female. C. ♂, cephalic region showing amphidial fovea. D. ♂, cephalic region showing buccal cavity. Scale bar: A–B = 100 µm; C–D = 11 µm.