Chordodes anthophorus Kirjanova 1950

Villalobos, Cristina De, Zanca, Fernanda & Spiridonov, Sergei, 2007, Fine morphology of the cuticle surface of Chordodes anthophorus and reinterpretation of C. aquaeductus, C. ferganensis and C. oscillatus (Gordiida Nematomorpha), Zootaxa 1397, pp. 39-45 : 40-41

Chordodes anthophorus Kirjanova 1950

( Figures 1 , 2 , 3 A)

1950. Chordodes anthophorus. Kirjanova Trud. Zool. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR 19: 269.

Series Types: 18 males, 3 females (ZIS 86)

Type locality: Tajikistan, Pendzhikent, in channel

Additional specimens: Uzbekistan, Samarkand, 1 female ( ZIS 143); Tajikistan, Pendzhikent, in channel, 1 male (labelled as Chordodes moutoni ( ZIS 97)

Material examined: Lectotype 1 female ( ZIS 86a), 1 female ( ZIS 143); 1 male ( ZIS 97)

Host: Hierodula tenuidentata (Mantidae) ( ZIS 143) ( Kirjanova 1950).

Redescription of the lectotype: The posterior end is rounded ( Fig.1 A). The cloacal opening is central and without circumcloacal bristles. The cuticular surface around the cloacal opening is smooth.

The cuticle of the whole body presents five areole types ( Fig 1 ). The most abundant are the simple areoles ( Figs 1 B, 1C, 1D), they are oval or rounded, their size varies from 10–16 μm and they are arranged perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the body. The simple areoles can present a smooth surface or a surface covered with short bristles (1.8–2.9 μm) arranged at the centre of the apical surface. Scattered among these areoles are areoles that carry a finger­like projection on top (tubercle areoles, Figs 1 A, 1B, 1C). The other two types of areoles occur in clusters. Crowned areoles ( Figs 1 B, 1C) occur in pairs, have moderately short filaments on top and are surrounded by about 12–20 elevated and slender areoles (circumcluster areoles). The circumcluster areoles carry a ring of short filaments at the apex and are curved towards the center ( Figs 1 B, 1C). In some parts of the cuticle two areolar clusters are arranged very close to each other ( Fig 1 C). Along the ventral and dorsal midline, there is another type of crowned areoles with distinctly longer (68–90 μm) filaments, also surrounded by circumcluster areoles ( Fig. 2 ). The interareolar furrow is narrow and structured into cordlike folds.

Further material: The collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, contains one further male specimen labelled as “ Chordodes moutoni ” ( ZIS 97). The publication of this specimen description as well as who determined it are unknown to the authors. The reinvestigation by SEM revealed that the cuticle of this specimen ( Fig. 3 A) shows only four areolar types from the five areolar types described in the lectotype of C. anthophorus , not presenting the second type of crowned areoles along the longitudinal midbody lines (see comments).

Dimensions: According to Kirjanova (1950) females vary between 205 and 210 mm in length and 1 and 1.2 mm in diameter, males range from 153 to 242 mm in length and from 0.9 to 1.5 mm in diameter.

Comments: In the original description, Kirjanova (1950) described the cuticle of males and females of C. anthophorus with seven areolar types. Our investigation confirmed only five areolar types in females. Types 1, 2 and 5 from Kirjanova (1950) correspond to the simple areoles in our reinvestigation. We consider that the areoles described by Kirjanova (1950) as types 3 and 4 correspond to our tubercle areole, while her types 6 correspond to our crowned areoles and 7 correspond to our circumcluster areoles. Also by SEM we could describe in detail each one of the areolar types mentioned and we could add crowned areoles with long filaments as a new type. Although unfortunately we could not describe the males of the series type of C. anthophorus because they were not available for study, analyzing the male specimen labelled as “ Chordodes moutoni ” we observed that besides of the absence of crowned areoles with long filaments on the midline surface, the cuticle presents the same characteristics of the lectotype of C. anthophorus indicating therefore that this specimen (ZIS 97) belongs to C. anthophorus .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lectotype Chordodes anthophorus SEM: (A) female posterior end with cloacal opening (arrow), (B) General view of the midbody cuticle with simple areoles with short bristles at the centre of the apical surface (1 a), simple areoles with smooth surface (1 b), tubercle (2), crowned (3) and circumcluster areoles (4). (C) Cuticle of the lateral side of the body with simple, tubercle, crowned and circumcluster areoles (numbering as in B) (see two cluster areoles arranged very close). (D) High magnification of two types of simple areoles (1 and 2) and tubercle areole. (Bars: (A): 100 µm; (B, C): 20 µm; (D): 10 µm.

FIGURE 2. Lectotype Chordodes anthophorus SEM: Cluster of crowned areoles with long filaments (5) along the ventral midline. (Bar: 20 µm).

FIGURE 3. Cuticle of the midbody: (A) specimen labelled as “ Chordodes moutoni ” (ZIS 97); (B) [Chordodes aquaeductus] (ZIS 90); (C and D) [Chordodes ferganensis] (ZIS 100); (C) Cuticle of the body with simple, tubercle, crowned and circumcluster areoles (numbering as in Fig. 1 B), (D) Cluster of crowned areoles with long filaments (5) along the ventral midline; (E and F) [Chordodes oscillatus] (ZIS 102), midbody cuticle showing four areolar types with the same characteristics of Chordodes anthophorus. Bars: (A and C): 20 µm; (B, and F): 20 µm; (D): 50 µm; (E): 10 µm.