Four new species of the family Desmodoridae (Nematoda, Desmodoroidea) from Kenya

Chromaspirina vanreuselae sp. n., Zalonema myrianae sp. n., Echinodesmodora moensi sp. n., and Metachromadora (Bradylainus) nyalii sp. n. are described from coarse coral sands in the intertidal zone of beaches along the Kenyan coast. In Chromaspirina vanreuselae sp. n., 15 cheilorhabdia (instead of 12 which is typical for the Chromadorina) are found in the cheilostome. Zalonema Cobb, 1920, is restored to the genus level. Comments are given on the term 'head region', and on ontogenetic transformations of some morphological characters, such as amphidial shape, presence, number and position of subcephalic setae, and tail shape. (C) 1996 The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.