On the Identity of Heterodera Turcomanica Kirjanova & Shagalina, 1965 and the Synonymy of the Genus Ephippiodera With Heterodera (Nematoda: Heteroderidae)

Abstract

Examination of type specimens of Ephippiodera turcomanica (Kirjanova & Shagalina, 1965) Shagalina & Krall, 1981 and material from Turkmeniya identified as E. turcomanica revealed the presence of four different heteroderid species: Heterodera turcomanica Kirjanova & Shagalina, 1965 and H. latipons Franklin, 1969, both from near the type locality in the Ashkhabad District, and two undescribed species from the Gyaur District. The two undescribed species resemble H. turcomanica but differ in second-stage juvenile characters. The redescription of H. turcomanica by Shagalina & Krall (1981) and the proposal of the genus Ephippiodera appear to have been based largely on specimens from these undescribed species. Characters of the cysts, eggs, second-stage juveniles in the eggs, and a male of H. turcomanica are described. Some characters of the undescribed species are also presented. The only reliable host record for H. turcomanica is Calligonum sp. (Polygonaceae). Cyst and second-stage juvenile characteristics of the genus Ephippiodera as defined by Shagalina & Krall (1981) are very heterogeneous. The wide vulval bridge is the only character that distinctly separates this genus from the genus Heterodera. A genus solely based on this character is considered to be unjustified, and the earlier (Wouts, 1985) proposed synonymy of Ephippiodera with Heterodera is accepted.