Longidorus cholevae

Female. Body plump, assuming a C to open spiral shape. Lip region continuous, anteriorly rounded. Labial papillae prominent. Cuticle 8–10 μm thick at poslabial region, 5–7 μm along the body and 12–14 μm on tail posterior to anus. Guide ring 6–7 μm wide. One lateral pore anterior to guide ring, 2–4 along odontostyle, 1–2 along odontophore, 4–5 in narrow part of the oesophagus and 3–4 in bulb region as well as 3–5 dorsal and 7–10 ventral; numerous lateral body pores observed. Amphidial fovea pouch like, short, almost as wide as long, funnel shape with code E5 according to Chen et al. (1997) and type 4 according to Decraemer and Coomans (2007), amphidial aperture assumed to be a minute pore, hardly visible under light microscope; fusus (sensillium pouch) at 51.6±2.7 (49.5–56) μm, n=7 from anterior end. Odontostyle slender, 2 μm wide at base. Pharyngo-intestinal valve, variable in shape (broadly rounded to heart-shape) and size, slightly wider than long: 19±1.4 (17–20) × 15.4±3.1 (12–19) μm, n=5. Normal arrangement of pharyngeal glands: nuclei of the dorsal and subventral glands situated at 23.6–32.1 % (n=3) and 50.7–58.9 % (n=8) of the distance from anterior end of the bulb. Dorsal gland nuclei 2 μm diam., subventral gland nuclei 3–4 μm diam. Nerve ring surrounding odontophore base, at 222.9±11.3 (203–242.5) μm from anterior end, a second nerve ring situated at a short distance behind the first one. Lateral chord 25–29 μm wide. Vagina extending to ca. half corresponding body width. Pars distalis vaginae 23–27 μm long; pars proximalis vaginae 28–35 μm long, thick walled. Uteri very long, anterior uterus 481.0±105.1 (372.5–662.5), posterior uterus 473.2±114.2 (357.5–660) μm long, respectively; well developed sphincter between uterus and pars dilatata oviductus, pars dilatata and uteri usually containing numerous sperm cells. Prerectum 426.9±79.7 (310–595) μm long, rectum 45.5±1.6 (43–48) μm or about 0.7–0.8 of body diameter at anus. Tail bluntly conoid, rounded to hemispherical. Two pairs of lateral pores. Male. Habitus as in females, posterior part more strongly coiled ventrad. Shape of lip region similar to that in females. Cuticle 5–8 μm thick at poslabial region, 7–9 at guiding ring level, 4–6 μm along the body and 9–13 μm on tail posterior to cloaca. One lateral pore anterior to guide ring, 2–3 along odontostyle, 1–2 along odontophore, 3–5 in narrow part of the oesophagus and 3–4 in pharyngeal bulb region as 4 dorsal and 7–10 ventral; numerous lateral body pores present. Fusus at 52.3±3.7 (47–57) μm, n=7 from anterior end. Nerve ring surrounding odontophore base, at 231.8±12.2 (217.5–259.5) μm from anterior end, a second nerve ring situated at a short distance behind the first one. Pharyngo-intestinal valve, variable in shape (broadly rounded to heart-shape) and size, almost as long as wide: 16.6±3.2 (13–23) × 18±3.1 (13–22) μm, n=6. Lateral chord 20–25 μm wide. Supplements 3–4 adanal pairs followed by 10–14 arranged irregularly in a single row. Spicules massive, slightly curved ventrally, lateral guiding piece 27–28 μm long. Spermatozoids round small (4–6 μm diam.). Tail short, bluntly conoid, dorsally convex, ventrally slightly concave, three pairs of lateral pores. Juveniles. Morphometrics obtained from juvenile specimens, and of the relationship between the lengths of their functional and replacement odontostyles and body lengths, confirmed the presence of four juvenile stages (Figure 9). Habitus in the shape of more or less open C, tail of the first stage juvenile conoid elongated whereas in the subsequent developmental stages the tail is conoid (second stage) to bluntly conoid (third and fourth stage).