Description of Longidorus armeniacae n. sp. (Nematoda: Longidoridae), associated with Prunus armeniaca L. in Semnan province, Iran

Longidorus armeniacae n. sp. is described and illustrated using morphological and molecular data. It was recovered from the rhizosphere of apricot trees in Semnan province, northeast Iran. The new species is characterized by having females with plump (body width at vulva 80-123 mu m, a = 44.5-68.2), medium sized body 5.0-7.4 mm long, lip region 16-20 mu m wide, continuous with body contour, amphidial fovea small, pouch-like, guiding ring at 29-35 mu m distance from the anterior end, odontostyle and odontophore 101-121 and 68-89 mu m long, respectively, pharyngeal bulb 125-154 mu m long, vulva at 48.8-59.3%, tail short (c ' = 0.5-0.7), rounded, sometimes varying to short conical; males common with 80-107 mu m long spicules, 8-13 ventromedian supplements; four juvenile developmental stages present and tail in J1 with a digitate mucro. The morphological differences of the new species with 15 species having comparable morphology and/or close phylogenetic affinities namely L. arthensis, L. athesinus, L. caespiticola, L. carniolensis, L. cholevae, L. helveticus, L. iuglandis, L. lignosus, L. magnus, L. picenus, L. pius, L. poessneckensis, L. profundorum, L. raskii and L. uroshis are discussed. The polytomous identification codes of the new species are as follows: A45-B34-C23-D3-E1-F234-G1-H1-I2-J1-K7. The phylogenetic relationships of the new species and other selected species of the genus were reconstructed using LSU D2-D3 and the ITS rDNA sequences.

Automated summary

The new species of the nematode suborder Longidorus, Longidorus armeniacae n. sp., was characterized and illustrated based on morphological and molecular data. The new species was found in the rhizosphere of apricot trees in northeast Iran. The study discusses the morphological differences between the new species and other closely related species, and reconstructs the phylogenetic relationships among the selected species of the genus using LSU D2-D3 and ITS rDNA sequences.