Morphological and molecular characterisation of Rotylenchus astragalus sp. n. (Nematoda: Rhabditida: Hoplolaimidae) from Shanxi province, north China

Rotylenchus astragalus sp. n. is characterised by having females 841-1069 mu m long, stylet 28-31 mu m long, basal knobs rounded, dorsal pharyngeal gland orifice (DGO) 3-5 mu m, lateral field with four incisures, pharyngeal gland lobes slender, overlapping intestine dorsally for 4-12 mu m, excretory pore located just posterior to the hemizonid, vulva slightly posterior to mid-body, ovaries paired, phasmid opening relatively large and 8-18 annuli anterior to the anus, tail conoid and absence of males. The matrix code of R. astragalus sp. n. is A5, B3, C1, D4, E1, F2, G1-2, H3, I2, J2, K1. In addition, phylogenetic relationships of the recovered populations were analysed using sequences of the near full length small subunit (SSU) and D2-D3 segments of large subunit (LSU) rRNA genes.