Paratylenchus conicephalus sp. n. from Iran with notes on P. similis Khan, Prasad & Mathur, 1967 (Nematoda: Paratylenchinae).

During nematode surveys in Iran two Paratylenchus populations were found. Paratylenchus conicephalus sp. n. is described and figured from the rhizosphere of Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl. and is characterised by having a 365-501 mu m long body, stylet 29.5-35 mu m long, a conical lip region with four or five indistinct annuli, large submedian lobes and four large flaps around the stoma opening, these structures appearing as a small cap-like structure when viewed laterally with the light microscope, four lines in the lateral field, and a sharply pointed tail 25.5-46 mu m long. Paratylenchus similis is described and figured from the rhizosphere of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. and compared with the various descriptions of this species.