Enchodelus lushani, W.Ahmad & Wu & Shaheen, 2001

W. Ahmad, Wu, J. & Shaheen, A., 2001, Studies on the genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939 (Dorylaimida: Nordiidae) from China, Journal of Nematode Morphology and Systematics 4 (2), pp. 83-90 : 84-86

Enchodelus lushani sp. n.

( Figure 1 )

Measurements: Table I .

Female: Body strongly ventrally curved upon fixation. Cuticle finely transversely striated, 1.5 — 2.0 um thick at midbody. Cuticle thickness on tail varies from 3.8 um on dorsal side, 4.6 um on ventral side and 11 um at tip. Lateral hypodermal chords about one­fourth of body width at midbody. Body pores indistinct. Lip region offset by depression, about one­fourth of body width at neck base. Labial papillae slightly projecting above labial contour. Vestibule thick­walled, almost funnel­shaped. Amphids stirrup­shaped with slit­like aperture occupying about 0.6 — 0.7 lip region widths; fusus slightly posterior to the base of odontostyle. Odontostyle fine, attenuated, curved slightly to dorsal side, 1.5 — 1.6 lip region widths long. Guiding ring double, fixed ring at about one lip region width from anterior end. Odontophore rod­like, slightly thickened at base, 1.3 — 1.5 times the odontostyle length. Combined odontostyle — odontophore length 46 — 50 um. Pharyngeal expansion gradual; expanded portion occupying about 41 — 44% of neck length. Dorsal pharyngeal gland close to pharyngeal expansion; first pair of subventrals inconspicuous; second pair well developed, much anterior, near middle (55 — 56%) of the expanded portion. Cardia short conoid. Pharyngeal gland nuclei located as follows (as per Andr ssy, 1998): D = 59­ 62; PS1 = 49 — 54; PS2 = 50 — 54. Vulva transverse; vagina 29 — 30 um or about two­thirds of the corresponding body width deep. Pars proximalis oaginae 19 x 12 um, slightly longer than wide, with weakly sigmoid somewhat convergent contour, encircled by well developed musculature. Pars refringens oaginae in optical section consisting of two well developed triangular sclerotizations with proximal smooth surface, measuring 7 x 5 um and with a combined width of 12 um and an extent along the lumen of 6 — 7 um. Pars distalis oaginae 2 — 3 um long with rounded walls. Genital system amphidelphic; ovaries 136 — 140 um, reflexed; oocytes initially arranged in multiple rows and then in a single row. A well developed sphincter present at oviduct­uterus junction. Uterus about three times as long as corresponding body width. Sperm present in the uterus of one of the females. Prerectum 4.1 — 5.8 anal body widths long. Rectum 1.0 — 1.2 anal body widths long. Tail short, conoid, dorsally convex, ventrally concave with bluntly rounded terminus, about one anal body width long with a pair of caudal pores on each side.

Male: Not found

Diagnosis and relationship: E. lushani sp. n. is characterized by having 1.3 — 1.5 mm long body; lip region offset by depression; 19 — 22 um long, attenuated odontostyle; second pair of subventral pharyngeal glands almost in the middle of expanded part; amphidelphic reproductive system and short, conoid, bluntly rounded tail.

In the shape of lip region and the nature of odontostyle and odontophore, the new species comes close to E. morgensis Loof, 1989 and E. analatus ( Ditlevsen, 1927) Thorne, 1939 but differs from the former in having thick­walled vestibule, longer odontostyle, in the nature of pharyngeal glands, and in shape and size of tail (odontostyle 9 — 11 um; c = 18.8 — 31.3; S 2 N much backward; tail conoid, slightly ventrally arcuate; the subcylindrical terminus narrowly rounded in E. morgensis ). From E. analatus the new species differs in having shorter body and smaller odontostyle ( L = 1.8 mm; odontostyle 30 — 35 um in E. analatus ). The new species also closely resembles E. parateres Baqri & Jairajpuri, 1974 but differs in the shape of lip region (lip region distinctly offset by a constriction in E. parateres ).

Type habitat and locality: Soil from a grassland in Lushan Mountains , 1300 m above sea level, Jiangxi Province, P. R. China.

Type material: Collected in June 1999. Holotype female on slide Enchodelus lushani sp. n. /1; paratype females on slides Enchodelus lushani sp. n. /2­4; deposited in the nematode collection of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. A paratype female deposited with the nematode collection of the Universidad de Ja n, Spain .

Etymology: The species name is derived from Lushan mountains, the type locality of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 1: Enchodelus lushani sp. n. A: Entire female. B: Anterior region. C: Anterior end showing amphid. D: Expanded part of pharynx. E: Vulval region. F: Female posterior end.