Clarkus sheri (Mulvey, 1967) Jairajpuri, 1970

Nusrat, Tabinda, Anjum, Ashher & Ahmad, Wasim, 2013, Mononchida (Nematoda) from Silent Valley National Park, India, Zootaxa 3635 (3), pp. 224-236 : 229

Clarkus sheri (Mulvey, 1967) Jairajpuri, 1970

( Fig. 3A–D )

= Mononchus sheri Mulvey, 1967

Measurements: Table 2 .

Female: Buccal cavity 1.7–2.0 times as long as wide; dorsal tooth comparatively small, its apex at 66–72% from the base of stoma; subventral wall provided with non-denticulate ridge originating at level anterior to dorsal tooth apex. Amphidial aperture slightly anterior to the level of dorsal tooth apex. Female genital system amphidelphic; sphincter at oviduct-uterus junction poorly developed. Vagina thick walled extending inward, slightly less than one-fourth of the corresponding body width; pars proximalis vaginae 11–12 μm long with convex walls; pars refringens vaginae with teardrop-shaped sclerotizations, each measuring 6–7×4–5.5 μm, cw 10–12 μm; pars distalis vaginae 2.5–3.0 μm, short with circular walls. Tail conoid, ventrally arcuate, 2.6–3.0 times anal body width long. Caudal glands weakly developed and lacking terminal opening.

Male: Not found.

Habitat and locality: Soil around the roots of forest trees from Mukkali, Silent valley national park, Palakkat, Kerala State, India.

Remarks: Clarkus sheri (Mulvey, 1967) Jairajpuri, 1970 was described by Mulvey (1967) from South Africa as Mononchus sheri . Jairajpuri, (1970) proposed the genus Clarkus and transferred Mononchus sheri to this genus and also synonymized Mononchus jugilis Coetzee, 1968 with C. sheri . Jairajpuri and Khan (1982) reported it from high altitudes in North India. Ahmad et al. (2010) recently reported this species from Japan. The present specimens, though agreeing fairly well with the earlier descriptions, are more similar to the recently described Japanese specimens with buccal cavity 39– 41 x 21–23 µm. Mulvey (1967) and Jairajpuri and Khan (1982) reported buccal cavity measurements as 32– 38 x 19–23 µm and 34– 38 x 16–18 µm respectively. Weakly developed caudal glands were also observed in the present specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 3 A – D: Clarkus sheri (Mulvey, 1967) Jairajpuri, 1970. A: Anterior end. B: Female genital branch (anterior). C: Vulval region. D: Female posterior end. E – H: Mylonchulus amurus Khan & Jairajpuri, 1979. E – F: Anterior region. G: Vulval region and posterior genital branch. H: Female posterior region (scale bars A, C – G = 20 µm; B = 50 µm; H = 10 µm).