Paracyatholaimus occultus Gerlach, 1956

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 : 290

17. Paracyatholaimus occultus Gerlach, 1956 *

(Figure 8A-C)

1956. Paracyatholaimus occultus Gerlach. Kieler meeresforsch. 12 (1): 85-109.

1971. Paracyatholaimus occultus Lorenzen. Zool. Anz. , 187: 283-302.

Material examined: Males, 6 ♂, (Reg. No. N. 222), Ramathirtham, 30.vii.2014, Coll. G. Sivaleela.

Diagnostic characters: Cuticle without lateral differentiation; precloacal supplements are setose gubernaculum small and simple. Tail conical.

Description: Body length 0.9mm. Cuticle is transverse rows of punctations. Ten short 3.5 µm cephalic setae. Amphids are 11 µm wide and rounded in appearance. Buccal cavity with large pointed dorsal tooth and minute sub-ventral tooth. Tail is 3 a.b.d in length. Spicules are 23 µm arcuate. Gubernaculum with caudally directed apophysis. Supplements are distinct in the present specimen.

Distribution: Indian Ocean ( Ansari et al. 2012): Karaikal ( Sivaleela, 2016). Elsewhere: Loch Ewe, West Scotland, Firth of Clyde.

Remarks: The specimen is well examined with an earlier description of Platt and Warwick in the cuticle with transverse rows of dots, amphid shape and specular structure. Hence, they are considered as P. occultus .

A B C Figure 7. Paracyatholaimus occultus . A. Adult, B. Tail region, C. Posterior region. A B C Figure 8. Paralongicyatholaimus minutus . A. Adult, B. Anterior region, C. Posterior region.