Morphological variation in Romanomermis culicivorax Ross and Smith, 1976 (Nematoda: Mermithidae)

Abstract

The morphological characters lateral chord structure, head, tail, vagina and spicule shape, which are those most frequently used in the diagnosis of mermithid species, were highly variable within the progeny of a single mating pair of Romanomermis culicivorax Ross and Smith, 1976. In the light of this variability the usefulness of these characters in species diagnosis is discussed and it is concluded that a series of specimens at various developmental stages are required for reliable diagnosis.