Chordodes heinzei Sciacchitano, 1937

Zanca, F., Villalobos, C. De & Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., 2006, Revision of the genus Chordodes (Gordiida, Nematomorpha) from Africa-I. Ultrastructural redescription of Chordodes gariazzi Camerano, 1902, C. heinzei Sciacchitano, 1937, C. kolensis Sciacchitano, 1933, C. muelleri Sciacchitano, 1937, and C. ruandensis Sciacchitano, 1937, Journal of Natural History 40 (1 - 2), pp. 17-31 : 22-28

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930600617898
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DC9B239F-A883-4F55-B756-F67C0F757846
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D78B3C-FFCB-FFFF-CCF5-FC55FE3DBD37
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Chordodes heinzei Sciacchitano, 1937
status

Treatment

Chordodes heinzei Sciacchitano, 1937 View in CoL

( Figure 2 View Figure 2 )

Chordodes henzei Sciacchitano 1937, p 141 , Plate 142, Figure 2 View Figure 2 .

Holotype: 1 „, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Province Kasai, Luebo. Coll. L. Achten, 1923 ( Sciacchitano 1937) ( AMT 1422 ).

Material examined

Holotype, SEM from midbody; LM from posterior end.

Host

Unknown.

Description

Body length is 186 mm, diameter in the middle region is 1.3 mm. The anterior end is tapered, with a dark ring. Mouth is terminal. The posterior end ( Figure 2A View Figure 2 ) is rounded. The cloacal opening is subterminal, oval, and without circumcloacal spines. Two rows of bristles are present anterolateral of the cloacal opening. The body colour is light brown. A ventral midline is not clearly pigmented.

The cuticle contains five types of areole distributed all over the cuticle ( Figure 2B View Figure 2 ). Simple areoles ( Figure 2B–D View Figure 2 ) are the most abundant, and are flat and rectangular in shape with a warty surface (blackberry-like). These areoles are transversal to the longitudinal axis of the body. Among these are scattered tubercle areoles of the same shape but with very long tubercles (12.6 mm) on top ( Figure 2D, E View Figure 2 ). Bulging areoles are isolated or form clusters of two, three, or four areoles ( Figure 2C, D View Figure 2 ). These areoles are taller (5.2 mm) than the simple areoles, with a pyramid form and small bristles on the top. Crowned areoles ( Figure 2B, F View Figure 2 ) occur in pairs, have moderately short filaments on top, and are surrounded by about 17–24 circumcluster areoles. These circumcluster areoles are the tallest (20.5– 23.8 mm), being conical, with a ring of short filaments at the apex and curved towards the centre ( Figure 2B, E, F View Figure 2 ).

Comments

Only one male specimen is known, described by Sciacchitano (1937). In the original description, Sciacchitano (1937) described the cuticle of C. heinzei with three areole types which would correspond to the simple, bulging and crowned areoles of our reinvestigation. Later, Sciacchitano (1958) redescribed this species and enlarged the number of areolar types to four when describing the high circumcluster areoles. Our observations by SEM are coincident with those of Sciacchitano (1958) but we can add tubercle areole as an additional areolar type. Sciacchitano (1937) described and produced figures of areoles with long filaments (crowned areoles) but later ( Sciacchitano 1958) modified this description by saying that these areoles have numerous but short projections. We could observe that along the whole body there are some crowned areoles in which the filaments are either broken or lost (see Figure 2B View Figure 2 ) probably due to manipulation or fixation of the specimen. Sciacchitano (1937) probably observed some of these damaged areoles when redescribing them.

Chordodes kolensis Sciacchitano, 1933 View in CoL

( Figure 3 View Figure 3 )

Chordodes kolensis Sciacchitano 1933, p 53 View in CoL , Figure 3 View Figure 3 .

Type series

Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2♀♀, Province Bandundu, Bolobo ( Borobo ), ( Uebi river ) ( AMT 1391 , 1392 ) ; 1♀, Province Kasai, Kole ( AMT 1394 ) ; 1♀, Province Equateur ,

Mbandaka (5Coquilhatville) ( AMT 1393) ; 1♀, Province Equateur (5Coquilhatville) Wangata ( AMT 1396 ) ; 1♀, Province Katanga , Kanzenze ( AMT 1395 ) .

Additional specimens

Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2 „„, Province Equateur, Tshuapa: Bokungu ( AMT 27056–27057 ) ; 1 „, Province Equateur, Ubangi : Gemena ( AMT 29564) ; 1 „ Province Orientale, Uele: Ibembo ( AMT 29573); 1 „, 1♀, Province Equateur, Yokamba ( AMT 29570) ; 4♀♀, 1 „, Province Orientale, Kisangani (5Stanleyville) ( AMT 1390 , 1397 , 1398 , 1399 , 1420 ); 1 „, Gwange, Busu-Bodua ( AMT 1400 ) ; Province Katanga, Leopoldville (5 Kinshasa) ( NHM 1989.793 ) . Angola: 1 „, Tsharissoka , along the road from Dundo to Camissombo ( AMT 12560) . Ivory Coast: 1♀, Mont Nimba ( Bocal H19 MNHNP 730 View Materials ) . Kenya: 1♀, Nairobi, Karura Forest ( NHM 1920.9.8.146) .

Material examined

SEM. Midbody from: 1♀, 1 „ ( AMT 1390 , 1420 ), 1 „ ( AMT 1400 ) , 1♀ Province Equateur (5Coquilhatville) Wangata ( AMT 1396 ) , 1♀ (Boccal H19 MNHNP 730 View Materials ) , 1♀ ( NHML 1917.8.13.27), 1♀ ( NHML 1920.9.8.146) ( NHM 1989.793 ) . Posterior end from: 1♀? ( AMT 1390 ) , 1 „ ( AMT 1400 ) .

Host

Undetermined mantis from specimens AMT 1390 and 1394 ( Sciacchitano 1933). The mantis from specimen AMT 1394 is determined as Tenodera sp. ( Sciacchitano 1958) . Undetermined mantis from specimens AMT 1400 ( Sciacchitano 1961) and NHM 1920.9.8.146 (new record).

Description

The body colour of males is dark brown, females are light brown. The body cuticle shows light spots. The anterior end is tapered, the anterior tip is white and a dark collar is lacking. The posterior end of males is undivided with a medial ventral groove ( Figure 3A View Figure 3 ). There are two row of bristles (bristlefields) anterolateral to the cloacal opening. The female posterior end is rounded ( Figure 3B View Figure 3 ).

The cuticle of males has six types of areole. Simple areoles ( Figure 3C, D View Figure 3 ) are distributed over the whole cuticle with varying shapes, rounded, oval, or crescent-shaped. They are low (6.6 mm), the apical surface is completely smooth or with minute bristles. Bulging areoles ( Figure 3C, D View Figure 3 ) are conical and 14.7 mm high. They are arranged among simple areoles, isolated or in groups of two or three areoles. Crowned areoles occur in pairs and are elevated 18.7–20.5 mm above the surface ( Figure 3C, F View Figure 3 ). They have an apical ring of very short filaments. Between 20 and 26 elevated (21.3 mm) circumcluster areoles surround each pair of crowned areoles ( Figure 3C, F View Figure 3 ). There are two additional types of areole which are unusual for Chordodes species. A conical, elevated areole is surrounded by three or four areoles with a half-moon shape ( AMT 1390, 1396, 1420) ( Figure 3E View Figure 3 ).

The cuticle of females contains the same areoles as the males, but along the ventral groove there is another type of crowned areole with very long filaments (107.2 mm) that also occurs in clusters of two and is surrounded by circumcluster areoles ( Figure 3G View Figure 3 ).

Dimensions

Males are generally shorter and narrower than females. Length of the males varies between 57 and 127 mm, females between 110 and 352 mm (see Comments). Diameter in males is 1 mm and 0.5–2 mm in females ( Sciacchitano 1933, 1958, 1961).

Comments

Sciacchitano (1933) described this species from six females ( AMT 1391, 1392, 1393, 1394, 1395, 1396). These specimens were mentioned again by Sciacchitano (1958). Although the dimensions of the female from Kole ( AMT 1394) (also noted by Schmidt- Rhaesa and Ehrmann 2001) and the sex of the specimen from Borobo ( AMT 1392) differ in both publications, the collection date and collector’s name correspond. It is assumed that these reports ( Sciacchitano 1958) are a repetition of Sciacchitano’s (1933) report. Also Sciacchitano (1958) considered the specimen from Province Orientale, Kisangani (5Stanleyville) ( AMT 1390) to be a male, when it is really a female (see Figure 3B View Figure 3 ) Sciacchitano (1933), in the original description of C. kolensis , considered the cuticle to contain three areolar types. Taking into account that none of these areolar types corresponds to the crowned areoles which are the characteristic areole of the genus Chordodes ( De Villalobos and Zanca 2001; Schmidt-Rhaesa and Ehrmann 2001; Schmidt-Rhaesa 2002; De Villalobos et al. 2004b), it is difficult to know on which characteristics Sciacchitano (1933) based his studies in order to include this species within Chordodes . Sciacchitano (1958) widened the description of the cuticle, describing four areolar types, among which he described areoles with short filaments (crowned areoles). These four areolar types are coincident with simple, bulging, circumcluster, and crowned areoles from our investigation. We can add two further areolar types, occurring in a cluster. Such clusters of a central and three or four surrounding areoles have not been described from any other species and have to be considered diagnostic for C. kolensis . The study of new specimens belonging to C. kolensis adds more localities and shows that this species is probably widespread in Central Africa.

Chordodes muelleri Sciacchitano, 1937 View in CoL

( Figure 4 View Figure 4 )

Chordodes muelleri Sciacchitano 1937, p 143 View in CoL , Figure 3 View Figure 3 .

Holotype

1♀ ( AMT 1421 ) (see Comments).

Type locality

Republic of Rwanda, Gabiro. Coll. Verhulst, 1934 ( Sciacchitano 1937).

Material examined

Holotype, SEM from midbody; LM from posterior end.

Host

Unknown.

Description

Body length is 223 mm, diameter in the middle region is 0.9 mm. Anterior end with white cap but a following dark collar is absent. The posterior end is rounded; the cloacal opening is terminal ( Figure 4A View Figure 4 ). The body colour is light brown. The dorsal and ventral midline is darkly pigmented.

The cuticle contains five different types of areole. The most abundant are simple areoles, these occur in a variety of shapes: oval, rounded, or horseshoe-shaped. They are 5.2 mm high. The surface of these areoles is rough or with fine lines and small bristles on top ( Figure 4B View Figure 4 ). Simple areoles have lateral cuticular projections which continue in the interareolar groove and connect the areoles to one another. Among these areoles there are scattered tubercle areoles ( Figure 4B View Figure 4 ). The tubercle originates in a central depression on top. The crowned areoles with short filaments occur along the whole body ( Figure 4C View Figure 4 ), and on the ventral groove as a second type of crowned areole, with long filaments (about 80– 95.3 mm) ( Figure 4D View Figure 4 ). The number of filaments per areole varies and the filaments can break leaving only short rudiments. Both types of crowned areoles are densely surrounded by a circle of circumcluster areoles. They are tall (12.6 mm), conical with bristles or small filaments apically. These areoles form clusters of 9–12 areoles that are curved towards the centre ( Figure 4C, D View Figure 4 ).

Comments

Sciacchitano (1937) described C. muelleri from a specimen which he interpreted as a male. Sciacchitano (1958), when describing the terminal end of the same specimen, placed the cloacal opening ventrally and near the apex of the posterior end of the specimen. According to our studies the holotype corresponds to a female (see Figure 4A View Figure 4 ). As regards the cuticle, Sciacchitano (1937) described it with two areolar types, while later ( Sciacchitano 1958) enlarging this description to three areolar types. Type 1 areoles ( Sciacchitano 1937) correspond to our simple areoles, while types 2 and 3 ( Sciacchitano 1958) correspond to our crowned and circumcluster areoles. By SEM we could describe in detail each one of the areolar types mentioned and we could add tubercle areoles and crowned areoles with long filaments as new types.