Redescription of Paratrophurus anomalus (Rhabditida: Dolichodoridae) from South Africa

Abstract

Summary Paratrophurus anomalus is redescribed from the North-West Province, South Africa, associated with the rhizosphere of a willow tree, a dominant ornamental tree in the province. This population is characterised by its adult body length (696 (625-834) μm for female and 706 μm for male), lateral field with four longitudinal incisures, cephalic framework well cuticularised, lip region smooth and lacking annuli, female stylet 19.6 (18-21) μm long, female tail cylindrical, 35 (31-38) μm long, c′ = 2.3 (2.1-2.8), with thick hyaline region forming 31-43% of the tail length, spicules 22 μm long and gubernaculum 12 μm long. Morphologically, P. anomalus is very similar to P. kenanae and P. dissitus, although they differ on the basis of lip region morphology, stylet length, hyaline tail region, and spicule length. In addition, SEM observations are provided for the first time for this species along with a new host and new geographical record of the species from South Africa, providing new information for the revision of Paratrophurus. Molecular analysis of P. anomalus using ITS rDNA showed a close relationship with P. bursifer, P. bhutanensis and Bitylenchus species. In addition, principal component analysis was done for 14 character states of species in the genus.