Abstract
A new species of the genus Aporcella collected from a watermelon field in Nigeria is described, including its morphological and molecular (small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA)) characterization. Aporcella femina sp. n. is distinguished by its 3.21-3.64 mm-long body, inner cuticle layer with fine but distinct transverse striation, lip region offset by deep constriction, 22-25 μm broad, odontostyle 20-26 μm, neck 661-811 μm long, pharyngeal expansion occupying 52-56% of the total neck length, female genital system didelphic-amphidelphic, uterus 191-350 μm or 1.9-3.3 mid-body diameters long, V = 52-57, tail short and convex conoid (35-48 μm, c = 72-98, c' = 0.7-0.9) and males absent. Phylogenetic analyses based on the partial sequence of SSU and LSU (D2-D3) rDNA revealed a close relationship of A. femina sp. n. with other Aporcella species, confirming the monophyly of the genus as well as its association to a clade made of several taxa characterized by the absence of pars refringens vaginae.
Highlights
The genus Aporcella Andrássy, 2002 is a widely distributed dorylaimid (Dorylaimida) taxon, inhabiting soils of all zoogeographical realms/regions except Antarctica (Álvarez-Ortega et al, 2013; Vazifeh et al, 2020)
Since its original description by Andrássy (2002), the taxonomy of Aporcella has been subjected to a number of changes, including a new definition (Álvarez-Ortega et al, 2013), the description of new species (Andrássy, 2012; Álvarez-Ortega & Peña-Santiago, 2016; Naghavi et al, 2019, 2020) and a recent update of its taxonomy (Vazifeh et al, 2020)
From a 2016 survey of nematode fauna associated with watermelon in Nigeria, specimens of an Aporcella population that belong to an undescribed species were recovered
Summary
The genus Aporcella Andrássy, 2002 is a widely distributed dorylaimid (Dorylaimida) taxon, inhabiting soils of all zoogeographical realms/regions except Antarctica (Álvarez-Ortega et al, 2013; Vazifeh et al, 2020). Since its original description by Andrássy (2002), the taxonomy of Aporcella has been subjected to a number of changes, including a new definition (Álvarez-Ortega et al, 2013), the description of new species (Andrássy, 2012; Álvarez-Ortega & Peña-Santiago, 2016; Naghavi et al, 2019, 2020) and a recent update of its taxonomy (Vazifeh et al, 2020). From a 2016 survey of nematode fauna associated with watermelon in Nigeria, specimens of an Aporcella population that belong to an undescribed species were recovered. This would represent a novel geographical record for the genus, and, by means of its molecular analysis, offers the chance to confirm previous findings about its monophyly and phylogeny
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