Paralongicyatholaimus minutus Warwick, 1971

Sivaleela, Gunasekaran, Surendar, Chandra & Kumar, Rubavath Rajendar, 2021, Free-living marine nematodes in Andhra Pradesh Coast, India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 121 (2), pp. 283-301 : 291

18. Paralongicyatholaimus minutus Warwick, 1971 * (Figure 9A-C)

1971. Paralongicyatholaimus minutus Warwick. Cah. Biol. Mar ., 12: 95-110. P.101-102

Material examined: 8 ♂ and 3 ♀ (Reg. No. N. 328), Coringa, 30.7.2014, Coll. G. Sivaleela.

Diagnostic characters: Buccal cavity is without teeth. Cuticle without lateral differentiation. Oesophagus with a posterior bulb. Spicules are simple. Gubernaculum without teeth. Precloacal supplements are absent. Tail is filiform.

Description: Body length is 0.7 mm. Maximum diameter of body is 21 µm. Cuticle with transverse rows of small dots. Four shorter 2 µm and six longer 3 µm cephalic setae. Buccal cavity without teeth. Amphids are 5 µm wide. Oesophagus 87 µm long with rounded bulb. 15 µm long. Tail is 230 µm in length and filiform. Spicules are 29 µm and curved. Gubernaculum 14 µm with distal swelling.

Distribution: Pichavaram mangroves ( Chinnadurai & Fernando, 2005); Continental shelf of eastern Arabian Sea ( Sajan & Damodaran, 2007); Continental shelf of southwestern Bay of Bengal ( Ansari et al., 2012); www. biosearch.in. Elsewhere: Northumberland Coast, NorthEast England.

Remarks: This species is well examined with the earlier description of the species Warwick, 1983 by its buccal cavity, cuticle without lateral differentiation and its tail shape. Hence, they are referred to as P. minutus .