Breinlia (Breinlia) jittapalapongi n. sp (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from the Asian house rat Rattus tanezumi Temminck in Lao PDR

A new species of filarioid nematode of the genus Breinlia Yorke & Maplestone, 1926 (Nematoda: Filarioidea) is described from rodents in Lao PDR and according to its morphology, is placed in the subgenus Breinlia. Breinlia (Breinlia) jittapalapongi n. sp. occurs in the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi Temminck) and the Sikkim rat (Rattus andamanensis Blyth) and is reported from two localities (Luang Prabang and Champasak). The new species can be distinguished from all other congeners, which are mostly distributed in Australasia (twenty-two species), South East Asia (four species) and India (two species), by the following characters of the males: shape and size of gubernaculum, length of spicules, pattern of cloacal papillae and presence of sclerotised ring in the buccal capsule. This is the fifth species of Breinlia described from South East Asia.