Morphological and Molecular note on the identity of Mylonchulus sigmaturus Cobb, 1917 (Nematoda: Mylonchulidae) from Pakistan

Abstract

A species of predatory nematode, Mylonchulus sigmaturus Cobb, 1917, was recovered around the soil and roots of banana plants (Musa paradisiaca) from four different localities of Pakistan. The male of this species represents a new record from Pakistan. Morphological and morphometric data of the species have been contributed along with the molecular study. The phylogenetic analysis using 18S rDNA placed the Pakistani populations of M. sigmaturus with the same species in a clade with 100 posterior probabilities. The first input of 28S rDNA data placed Pakistani M. sigmaturus in a separate clade with 100 posterior probability support, however close with Prionchulus punctatus (Cobb, 1917) Andrássy, 1958 and Clarkus papillatus (Bastian, 1865) Jairajpuri, 1970.

Keywords

• mylonchulus
• morphometric
• phylogeny
• predatory nematode
• rdna