科研之友
微信
新浪微博
Facebook
分享链接
摘要
Sclerorhabditis neotropicalis sp. n. is described and illustrated. It can be distinguished by its body length (515-560 mu m in females and 363-455 mu m in males), lip region with crown-shaped lips, having acute three acute thorns, oral aperture one third of lip region width, stoma 15-22 mu m long or 1.0-1.6 times as long as diameter of lip region, stomatal tube about 1.5 times longer than wide, bearing rhabdia with slightly rugous walls at lumen side, stegostom lacking glottoid apparatus and denticles, pharynx 125-135 mu m long in females and 107-131 mu m long in males, excretory pore and hemizonid located at 21-22% of the distance from the anterior end. The female reproductive system is didelphic-amphidelphic, with ovaries straight or dorsally reflexed, and the vulva is a transverse slit, 55-61% from the anterior end, female tail conoid elongated, 62-76 mu m long, having a posterior hyaline portion very slender and with acute tip. The male reproductive system is monorchic, with testis anterio-ventrally reflexed, spicules free, 36-47 mu m long or 1.6-1.8 times longer than anal body width, with rounded manubrium, gubernaculum 15-18 mu m long or 38-42% of spicule length, and bursa anteriorly open, peloderan, with scalloped margin and bearing eight pairs of genital papillae (1+1/1+1+1+1+2), tail conoid spicate, 23-30 mu m long. The new species was found in close association with an ant colony (Azteca constructor Emery, 1876) inside a Cecropia obtusifolia Bertoloni, 1840 tree in a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Certain species of Azteca ants live in mutualistic association with Cecropia trees and preliminary evidence suggests that the new nematode species is invariably present in the colonies of at least some of these Azteca species. It is, therefore, possible that the new nematode species represents a third partner in the mutualism, although its role is still unknown.
- 出版日期2012-6
