Description of six new species of Oscheius Andrassy, 1976 (Nematoda: Rhabditida) from Pakistan with a key and diagnostic compendium to species of the genus

Abstract

Six new species of the genus Oscheius Andrassy, 1976 viz., Oscheius citri n. sp., O. cynodonti n. sp., O. cobbi n. sp., O. esculentus n. sp., O. punctata n. sp. and O. sacchari n. sp., are described by both morphological and molecular means from different agro-climatic regions of Sindh, Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan. All species belong to insectivora group on the basis of leptoderan bursa, crochet needle-shaped spicules, normal rectum, lateral field with six separate lines and had unique ribosomal DNA-ITS, sequence. A compendium of the genus Oscheius (of both insectivora and dolichura groups) based on the following characters: body length, tail, spicules and gubernaculum length, ratios a, b, c, c' and vulva percentage is given. The morphometric and allometric characters with anterior and posterior regions were derived from the original descriptions. An identification key to 42 valid species of both insectivora and dolichura group of the genus Oscheius is given.