Ficotylus congestae gen. n., sp. n. (Anguinata), from Ficus congesta (Moraceae) sycones in Australia

Abstract

AbstractA new monotypic genus of tylenchid nematode, Ficotylus n. gen., was recovered from sycones of Ficus congesta L. from Mourilyan, Mission Beach and Cairns, Queensland, Australia. The genus is characterised by having slender nematodes with a long stylet, a sub-cylindrical pharynx lacking a terminal bulb, pharyngeal glands overlapping the intestine for a short distance, secretory/excretory pore opening posterior to the nerve ring, female with a single gonad and post-vulval sac and male with slender, arcuate, cephalated spicules with the bursa arising near the proximal level of the retracted spicule and supported by a pair of papilla-like structures at its widest point. This is the first record of a tylenchid occurring within Ficus sycones. Ficotylus congestae gen. n., sp. n. is distinguished by possessing a long stylet (29-39 μm) with conus forming ca 40% of stylet length and three well developed bifid knobs at the base of the shaft, a degenerate pharynx with a vestigial metacorpus (no valve) and no basal bulb, females with a post-vulval uterine sac and males with a characteristic bursa supported by a pair of papilla-like structures at its widest point, then narrowing rapidly and just enveloping tail. Ficotylus congestae gen. n., sp. n. is a putative member of the Anguinata (sensu Siddiqi, 1985), based on molecular phylogeny of near full length SSU and D2/D3 expansion segments of the large subunit (LSU) rDNA. Morphologically, it has affinities with the superfamily Sphaerularioidea, family Neotylenchidae, where it is tentatively placed.