Veleshkinema, Miraeiz, Esmaeil, Heydari, Ramin, Álvarez-Ortega, Sergio, Pedram, Majid & Atighi, Mohammad Reza, 2015

Miraeiz, Esmaeil, Heydari, Ramin, Álvarez-Ortega, Sergio, Pedram, Majid & Atighi, Mohammad Reza, 2015, Molecular and morphological characterization of Veleshkinema iranicum n. gen., n. sp. (Nematoda: Hexatylina, Sphaerularioidea) from Iran, Zootaxa 4000 (5), pp. 531-546 : 535-538

Genus Veleshkinema n. gen.

Description. Female slender, straight to irregularly curved upon heat relaxation, lacking sexual dimorphism in anterior region. Cuticle with fine transverse annules. Lateral field approximately one-fourth as wide as body diameter at mid-body, barely visible by light microscopy, not raised, with six, areolated equidistant incisures, beginning anteriorly at the end of procorpus with three lines forming two bands, gradually number of incisures increases to six at mid-body, and reduces to four at tail region. Cephalic region low, eight sectored, continuous with body contour, appearing smooth under light microscope, but with 4–5 faint annuli in SEM observations. Labial disc absent. Oral opening circular. Amphidial apertures oblique slits, slightly displaced dorsally, lateral to oral opening. Stylet short, 6.5–7.5 Μm long, delicate with asymmetrical minute rounded knobs with the dorsal knob anterior to the subventral knob. The dorsal gland orifice (DGO) just posterior to subventral knob. Subventral gland orifice (SVO) visible at middle of the less developed metacorpus. Pharynx with non-muscular fusiform median bulb, pharyngeal gland lobe dorsally (rarely dorso-laterally) overlapping intestine for about 0.5–2.1 times corresponding body width, nuclei of pharyngeal glands not clearly visible. Nerve ring enveloping isthmus. Excretory pore with sclerotized duct. Hemizonid barely visible, just anterior to excretory pore. Deirids at the level of excretory pore. Cardia present, small, rounded to triangular. Female reproductive system monodelphicprodelphic, outstretched anteriorly, spermatheca rounded, offset, filled with small, spheroid sperm, crustaformeria quadricolumellate with 8–10 cells in each column, postvulval uterine sac absent, vulva an open transverse slit with prominent lips, anterior lip much more raised than the posterior one, epiptygma single. Tail conoid, terminus narrow, tip sharp, sometimes bifurcated, similar in both sexes. Spicules slightly arcuate; gubernaculum arcuate. Bursa subterminal. Entomoparasitic infective females (if occurring) unknown.

Diagnosis and relationships. Based on the above-mentioned morphological and biological characters, Veleshkinema n. gen. belongs to the superfamily Sphaerularioidea and family Sphaerulariidae . Siddiqi (2000) divided the suborder Hexatylina into two superfamilies Sphaerularioidea and Iotonchioidea Goodey, 1953 based on two alternative entomoparasitic generations in host and two or more types of adult in the host’s haemocoel in Iotonchioidea vs one in Sphaerularioidea. Morphologically, the new genus comes close to members of the superfamily Sphaerularioidea. Based on its morphology and our current knowledge of its biology, the new genus belongs to the family Sphaerulariidae and subfamily Sphaerulariinae and can be compared with two genera in the above mentioned subfamily namely: Prothallonema and Sphaerularia and two other neotylenchid genera namely Abursanema and Deladenus Thorne, 1941 .

Veleshkinema n. gen. differs from Prothallonema by its terminal bulb overlapping intestine dorsally (vs having a terminal stem-like projection), more anterior position of vulva (V = 81–84 vs 88–94%), postvulval uterine sac absent (vs present) and bursa sub-terminal (vs terminal).

It differs from Sphaerularia by having a free-living generation (vs no complete free-living generation), shorter stylet (6.5–7.5 vs 14–18 Μm) with asymmetrical knobs (vs lacking knobs or having thickenings at base of stylet), FIGURE. 1. Veleshkinema iranicum n. gen., n. sp. A: Details of pharynx; B: Anterior end in detail; C: Overlapping and cardia; D: Part of female reproductive system, showing crustaformeria and functional spermatheca; E: Male posterior end; F, G: Female tail; H & I: Male and female entire body.

non-raised lateral field with six incisures (vs four conspicuous incisures), postvulval uterine sac absent (vs present), presence of cardia (vs absence), prominent vulval lips (vs flattened), and having of epiptygma (vs lacking).

It differs from Abursanema by having stylet knobs (vs absence), pharyngeal gland overlap of intestine (vs a stem-like extension projecting into the lumen of intestine), lateral field with six incisures (vs two), presence of cardia (vs absence) and presence of sub-terminal bursa in males (vs not).

The new genus differs from Deladenus by having asymmetrical stylet knobs (vs symmetrical), short pharyngeal gland overlap of intestine (vs very long), more anterior position of vulva (V = 81–84 vs 93–94%), subterminal bursa (vs terminal) and pharyngo-intestinal junction posterior to nerve ring vs (anterior to nerve ring).

Type habitat and locality: Recovered from bark sample of a European nettle tree ( Celtis australis L.) in Habib Allah Veleshki shrine in Heydar Abad, west of Gorgan, Golestan province, Iran. GPS coordinates: N 36° 85', E 54° 29'. No entomoparasitic phase was recovered from specimens of mosquitoes (belonging to the family Ceratopogonidae ) that were associated with mosses on bark samples of the tree.

Type material. Holotype female, slide NVI001 together with six paratype specimens: three males, four females (Slides NVI001, NVI002) deposited in the Nematode Collection of the Department of Plant Protection, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. Two female and one male paratypes deposited in each of the following collections: Nematode Collection of the Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; CABI Europe-UK, Egham, Surrey, UK; USDA Nematode Collection, Beltsville, MD, USA; WANECO collection, Wageningen (http://www.waneco.eu/).