Paralinhomoeus de Man, 1907

Ansari, Kapuli Gani Mohamed Thameemul, Lyla, Somasundharanair & Khan, Seyd Ajmal, 2018, New distributional records of free-living marine Nematodes from Indian waters IV. Linhomids and Axanolaimids, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 118 (4) : -

Genus Paralinhomoeus de Man, 1907

3. Species Paralinhomoeus conicaudatus (Allgen, 1930)

Synonym: Linhomoeus (Paralinhomoeus) conicaudatus Allgen, 1930

Feeding type: The specimens showed large buccal cavity that is not armed with teeth.According to the classification of buccal cavity by Wieser (1953), this species is a nonselective feeder (1B).

Habitat: Sandy and silty sediments.

Distribution: India: Karaikal and Parangipettai. Elsewhere: England ( Warwick et al., 1998); European waters ( De Smet et al., 2001); Norway, Oresund and Scilly Island ( Hansson, 1998).

Remarks: The specimens examined conformed well to the earlier description of Warwick et al. (1998) except for the smaller body size. The total body length described was 2.6-3.9mm and tail length 4.6a.b.d. The body length of the specimen studied at present was found smaller being 0.8-1.9mm and the tail length 6.7-6.9a.b.d. in male Material examined: 7 males and 3 females collected from Karaikal 30-50m depth (20.12.2008) and Parangipettai 30-50m, 76-100m and> 176m depths (19.12.2008).

de Man ratio: a b c Male: 54.74±0.40 9.05±0.13 10.55±0.20

(54.12-55.16) (8.88-9.22) (10.22-10.84) Female: 54.63±0.35 9.01±0.10 10.50±0.06

(54.24-54.92) (8.94-9.12) (10.43-10.55)

Description: Body length 0.8-1.9mm in male and 1.4-

3.1mm in female. Maximum diameter 85-87 µm in male and 76-88µm in female. Faint cuticle striations. Six minute labial papillae. Cephalic setae in six groups,

and in female 1.4-3.1mm body length and tail length

6.2-7.9a.b.d. This is the first record of the species from the Indian waters.