Sclerolaimus hungaricus, Kiss, 2010

Kiss, M., 2010, Free-Living Nematodes From Two Dolomite Hills In Hungary, With Description Of Sclerolaimus Hungaricus Sp. N., Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 56 (4), pp. 293-305 : 300-304

Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp. n.

( Figs 1–17 )

Diagnosis. Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp. n. can be identified by the cap-like head region with six small sclerotized pieces, needle-like odontostyle, 7–9 ventromedial supplements, hemispheroid tail of male and conoid rounded tail of female.

Description. Holotype female, L = 1.27 mm; a = 28; b = 5,9; c = 44; c’ = 1.2; V = 55%. Paratype females (n = 12), L = 1.06–1.37 mm; a = 29–34; b = 5.2–5.9; c = 36–44; c’ = 1.0–1.2; V = 51–55%. Paratype males (n = 10), L = 1.06–1.27 mm; a = 29–37; b = 4.3–6.4; c = 32–44; c’ = 1.1–1.4.

Body slender, 36–42 µm wide at middle, ventrally curved after fixation. Cuticle smooth, very thin, 1 µm in most regions and 1.0–1.5 µm in the middle of tail. Outer layer of cuticule with fine transverse striations, inner layer coarsely striated and irregularly contoured. Amphids large, nearly encircling head. Lip region 9–10 µm wide. Lips offset by a deep constriction, cap-like, the central part overhang, the inner papillae very large. Body at the posterior end of oesophagus 3.1–3.3 times wider than head.

Odontostyle 6–7 µm long, very fine, odontophore straight, 8–10 µm long with small basal thickenings. Lumen of odontostyle frequently hardly discernible. Oesophagus 205–247 µm long, occupying 16–19% of body length. The two parts of oesophagus separated by a deep constriction. Glandularium 35–42 µm long, 12–19 % of entire lenght of oesophagus. Excretory pore not seen. Cardia cylindroid, 8–10 µm.

Intestine consisting of large, elongate-ovoid cells. Female prerectum 6–8 anal body widths long; intestine–prerectal junction with three large cells.

Female. Vulva transverse. Sexual apparatus amphidelphic, ovaries opposed, reflexed; both ovaries functional. Uterus in mature females not containing spermatozoa. Mature eggs not observed. Distance vulva–anus 19–21 times longer than tail. Tail 27–33 µm long, conoid-rounded.

Male. Similar to female but generally more slender. Testes two, dorylaimid. Spicules dorylaimid, slender, 34–40 µm long with lateral guiding pieces. Tail 30–35 µm long, hemispheroid, somewhat more conoid than that of female. 7–9 (mostly 9) ventromedial supplements present.

Material examined. Holotype female on slide No. H 185. Soil from rocky grassland, Út Hill near Budaörs, Hungary. Leg. M. Kiss, 11 November 2006 . Paratypes on slides No. H 178, H184, H185. Soil from rocky grassland, Út Hill near Budaörs, Hungary. Leg. M. Kiss, 11 November 2006 and H196 soil from open rock grassland, Sas Hill near Buda, Hungary. Leg. M. Kiss, 24 April 2007 .

The type material is deposited in the Soil Zoology Collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum , Budapest .

Etymology. The Latin hungaricus means Hungarian.

Remarks. This is the second species of the genus Sclerolaimus . The type species, Sclerolaimus paradoxus ( LOOF et JAIRAJPURI, 1968) JAIRAJPURI & AHMAD, 1992 has only 3–6 supplements, female tale hemispheroid in contrast to the new species that has 7–9 preanal supplements, longer tail (females: c = 36–44 vs. c = 48–76; and males: c = 32–44 vs. c = 46–71), female tail conoid-rounded, constriction of oesophagus lies farther back (80–88% of entire length of oesophagus vs 70–74%) and somewhat thicker body (a = 29–34) than type species (a = 33–41).

The genus Sclerolaimus appears to have a European distribution. S. paradoxus was recorded from The Netherlands and Switzerland, while S. hungaricus sp. n. from Hungary.

Figures

Figs 1–4. Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp. n.: 1 = anterior end, 2 = cardial region, 3 = vulval region, 4 = intestine–prerectal junction. (Scale bars 20 µm each)

Figs 5–10. Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp.n.: 5–6=male tail, 7–11= female tail.(Scale bars 20 µm each)

Figs 12–15. Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp. n.: 12 = anterior end, 13 = female tail, 14–15 = male tail. (Scale bars 40 µm each)

Figs 16–17. Sclerolaimus hungaricus sp. n.: 16 = female genital region, 17 = male genital region. (Scale bars 40 µm each)