Pristionchus taiwanensis, Aspe & James, 2017

Aspe, Nonillon M. & James, Samuel W., 2017, Pheretima apoensis, Zoological Studies 55 (48), pp. 1-16 : 6-10

Pristionchus taiwanensis n. sp.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FD5B892C-E0E4-44F2-82DB-15E0A74E9DAE ( Figs. 2-3 ; Fig. 2S )

Measurements: See Table 1.

Description: Stenostomatous form. Stegostom bearing a conspicuous and movable dorsal triangular or diamond-shaped tooth, three bump-like (blunt) left subventral denticles apparently projecting from a common cuticular plate, and a small, short, and pointed right subventral denticle bearing from the reclangular plate ( Fig. 2E ). Dorsal tooth with strongly sclerotized surface, appearing as an inverted “V” shape in light microscopic observation.

Eurystomatous form: Clear species-specific characters were not observed.

Male: Nine pairs of genital papillae arranged as above, where, in many individuals, phasmid (ph) and v5 are close to each other. ph and v5-7 linearly arranged, and pd located slightly posterior to v7.

Female: Clear species-specific characters were not observed.

Diagnosis: Besides its generic (or P. pacificus species-complex) characters, P. taiwanensis n. sp. is diagnosed by its morphology of right subventral ridge in the stenostomatous form. The species is also characterized by an 830-bp fragment of the SSU rRNA gene (GenBank accession number KX113517), the sequence of which is distinct from that of all other Pristionchus species, and by a gonochoristic reproductive mode.

Type host and locality: The culture (strain RS5797) from which the type specimens were obtained was originally isolated from the body of an adult Onthophagus sp. collected at Kenting National Park in August 2015.

Type material: Holotype stenostomatous male (slide accession number 31486), three paratype stenostomatous males and three paratype stenostomatous females (31487-31492) deposited in the University of California Riverside Nematode Collection ( UCRNC), Riverside , CA, USA. Three paratype stenostomatous males and three stenostomatous females (SMNK- Nema-T0119– SMNK-Nema-T0124) deposited in the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe , Germany. Three paratype stenostomatous males and three paratype stenostomatous females ( SMNH Type- 8791 – SMNH Type-8796) deposited in the Swedish Natural History Museum , Stockholm, Sweden.

Type strain culture: All strains are available as living cultures and frozen stocks under culture code RS5797, RS5800 and RS 5815 in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany and can be provided to other researchers upon request.

Etymology: The species epithet, a Latin adjective denotes the type locality of the species.

Figures

Fig. 2. Pristionchus taiwanensis n. sp. Drawings are of live specimens (non-types) from temporary mounts. (A) Stenostomatous male, left lateral view. (B) Stenostomatous female, right lateral view. (C) Anterior end of stenostomatous male, right lateral view. (D) Stomatal region of eurystomatous female, left lateral view; below (from left to right) are left subventral ridge and dorsal tooth. (E) Stomatal region of stenostomatous female, right lateral view: below are right subventral denticle and dorsal tooth. (F) Stomatal region of eurystomatous female, left lateral view; below are left subventral ridge and dorsal tooth. (G) Stomatal region of eurystomatous female, right lateral view; below are dorsal tooth and right subventraltooth. (H) Pharyngeal region of stenostomatous female, left lateral view. (I-J) Body surface showing longitudial striations and relative position of deirid and secretory pores.

Fig. 3. Pristionchus taiwaniensis n. sp. (A) Anterior gonad of female, right lateral view. (B) Female anal region, ventral view. (C) Female tail, left lateral view. (D) Male gonad, left lateral view. (E) Position of male postdeirid. (F) Male tail region, ventral view. (G) Male phasmid and genital papillae v5-7 and pd, ventral view. (H) Male phasmid and genital papillae v5-7 and pd, left lateral view. (I) Male tail region, left lateral view. (J) Spicule and gubernaculum, left lateral view).