Description of Aporcella minor sp. n. (Dorylaimida: Aporcelaimidae) from Iran, with an updated taxonomy of the genus

Abstract

Summary A new species belonging to the genus Aporcella, collected in cultivated soils of East Azarbaijan province, Iran, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterised by its 1.08 (1.05-1.15) mm long body, two-layered cuticle, lip region offset by constriction and 12 (11-13) μm broad, odontostyle 13.0 (12.5-14.0) μm long or nearly equal to lip region diam., neck 310 (293-325) μm long, pharyngeal expansion 137 (128-144) μm long, occupying 43-45% of the total neck length, female genital system didelphic-amphidelphic, uterus simple, 34-48 μm long, vulva transverse (V = 59 (58-61)), tail conical with finely rounded terminus (30 (29-33) μm long, c = 34 (33-36), c′ = 1.5 (1.4-1.6)), and male absent. Molecular analyses, using Bayesian inference based on partial LSU sequences, confirm the monophyly of Aporcella as well as its clustering with other dorylaimid taxa characterised by the absence of pars refringens vaginae. The taxonomy of the genus is updated, with an emended diagnosis, list of species, key to their identification, and a compendium of the main morphometrics of species/populations described since the last available revision.