Longidorus kheirii n. sp (Nematoda: Longidoridae) from Iran

Longidorus kheirii n. sp., a parthenogenetic species, was found in soil samples collected from the rhizosphere of Rosa sp. growing in a natural mountainous region close to Maragheh city, northwestern Iran. It is characterised by having a long body (6.7-9 mm), a 19.5-23 mu m wide head continuous with the body contour, a truncate and slightly concave lip region with convex sides between the anterior end and the guide-ring, an odontostyle 113-130 mu m long, an odontophore 69-97.5 mu m long, a body width of 90.5-117.5 mu m at the mid-body, a long, wide oesophageal bulb (149.5-193.5 x 39.5-48 mu m), a tail length of 47-72 mu m, a male with 11 ventromedian supplements and spicules of 85 mu m in length, and four juvenile stages. The ribosomal 18S rDNA gene of L. kheirii n. sp., L. leptocephalus Hooper, 1961, L. profundorum Hooper, 1966 L. euonymus Mali & Hooper, 1973 and two unidentified species listed as Longidorus sp. 1 and Longidorus sp. 2, all recovered from northwestern Iran in the same survey, and the ITS1 of L. kheirii n. sp. and Longidorus sp. 1 were sequenced in order to investigate the phylogenetic relationships with other previously sequenced Longidorus species.