Paramerlinius shamimi n. sp. (Nematoda: Merliniidae) from India with a tabular key for the genus Paramerlinius

What is it about?

A new plant parasitic nematode named Paramerlinius shamimi n.sp. was discovered in the potato rhizosphere in a government potato seed farm, in Uttarakhand, India. It is described based on morphological, morphometric and molecular data. The new species can easily identified by its body length of 841.8-1208.8 µm, continuous head bearing 7 to 8 annuli, prominent stylet (28.4-32.3 µm) with well-developed posteriorly slopping basal knobs, six lateral incisures at the mid body, well-developed median bulb, secretory excretory (S-E) pore (123.5-160.7 µm) almost at the level of basal bulb, hemizonid covering 2-3 annuli which are located 3-4 annuli above the S-E pore, phasmids located in the front half of the tail, tail subcylindrical having hemispherical smooth terminus (62.7-94.1 µm) with 38-48 tail annuli, males common, spicule arcuate (27.4-31.4 µm), gubernaculum curved ventrally (8.8-9.8 µm) and peloderan bursa. The population was molecularly characterised by sequencing nuclear ribosomal DNA (rRNA) genes viz., ITS-1, 18S (partial) and D2-D3 region of 28S rRNA and its phylogenetic relationship with related species of the Paramerlinius is established. A tabular key for all valid species including P. shamini n.sp. under the genus Paramerlinius is given.

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