Prionchulus ebtusidentatus, Vinciguerra, 1984

Vinciguerra, Maria Teresa, 1984, Description Of Two New Species And Remarks On Some Known Species Of Nematodes From Sardinia, Animalia 11 (1 - 3), pp. 127-134 : 128-131

Prionchulus ebtusidentatus n. sp.

(Figs. 3-6; PI. I, 1 -2)

Measurements

Holotype ♀ L= 2.45 mm; ai=26 b=: 3.8; c = 14; V =63%

x3

Paratype ♂ L =2.15 mm; a= 27; b =4. 0; c = 13; V =65 %

'

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Description

Female. Body ventrally curved in the posterior region. Cuticle thin and smooth. Lips slightly angular, lip region continuous with the body. Mouth cavity ovoidal, 46-50 μm long and 26-28 μm wide. A strong dorsal tooth, with rounded apex and with a hump on its internal margin, protrudes at 75-76 % of its length. In front of it two longitudinal ridges bear each a series of denticles irregular in size and shape, mostly platelike. Oesophago-intestinal junction non-tuberculate. Gonads paired. A sphincter is present between uterus and oviducts, which are widely expanded proxirnally. Vulva transverse; vagina without sclerotizations. In one specimen two eggs were present in the uterus, measuring 60-70 μm x 90- 100 μm, smooth. No sperms were seen in the uterus. Tail conoid, ventrally curved, more than two anal body widths long, with subacute terminus. Caudal glands and terminal duct absent.

Male. Not found.

Diagnosis and relationship. Prionchulus obtusidentatus n. sp. is characterized by a mouth cavity provided with a dorsal tooth bluntly pointed, humped on its internal margin, and with blunt denticles and by the presence of a sphincter between uterus and oviducts. The new species is similar to Prionchulus muscorum (Dujardin, 1845) Wu and Hoeppli, 1929 and to Prionchulus longus (Thorne, 1929) Andrassy, 1959 . From the former it differs in the presence of a sphincter between uterus and oviducts; from the latter in the absence of a true spermatheca; from both in the shape of dorsal tooth and denticles.

Type habitat and locality. The new species was found in moss in Rio Aratu, Fonni Desulo (NU), Italy. (2 females).

Type specimens. Holotype and the only paratype are preserved in the collection of the Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, University of Catania.