Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.

128 -134 Afro-Asian Journal of Nematology December, 1993

Some Cephalobids from Ireland and Malaysia (Nematoda: Rhabditida)

Sven Bostrom

Zoo-la x, Swedi sh Museum or Natural Historj; Box 50007, 5-104 05 Stockholm, Swed en

Abstract. Cephalobus persegnis and Eucephalobus suiatus from Ireland and E. hoopeti and Acrobeloides nanus from
Malays ia are descr ibed from studie s by light and scanning elect ron microscopy. Ad ditional morphological infor ma-
tion on the fou r species is presented and their taxonomic posit ions are discussed . E. hooperi is recorded (or the thi rd
time.

Ke,p \'ord s:A crobe/oides mlnUS, Ccphalobidae, Cephalobuspcrsegnis; E ucep halobus hoop eri, E . striatus, morphology,
SEM, taxono my.

INTRODUCTIO N Sa mples from Malaysia were taken by Prof. Hc ikki I Iippa

G ene ra o f the fami ly Ccp halobidac Chi twoo d & Chitwood,
1934 arc diagnosed mainly hy th e org anisation of the cep halic
structu res. Seve ra l ge nera, in additio n to th e lips and their ex-
ten sions ca lled cep halic probo lae, have labial p robo lae rang-
ing from simple knob-like to highly elabo rate with fringes. A
proble m in identificatio n o f cephalobid species, however, is
th e vas t variabili ty in these d iagnostic cha racte rs, wh ich in
so me cases traverse gen eric d iagnoses and make th e positio n
of some species at least u ncertain.
In order to study inter- a nd in traspecific variability withi n
th e family Ccphalobidae, samples were taken from various
soil biotopes in different parts of the wor ld.
In Irel and Cep halobus p ersegnis Bas tian, 1865 and Euce-
phalobus stria/us ( Bas tia n, 1865) T home, 1937 were found.
Fro m Malaysia Eu cepholobus hooperi Mar inari-Palmisano,
1967 and Acrobeloides nanus (de Man , 1880) And erson, 1968
we re obta ined.
Descriptions o f th e species fro m stud ies in light and sca n-
ning electron micro scope are made and their identity and
relation ships a re d iscu ssed below.
on th e 6th February 1991 from abou t 2,000 met res height on
Gu nong Brinchang in the Camero n highlan ds. T he soil
sample d was o rganic (mosses and peat) with high water con-
tent.
Ne ma todes were extr acted by a wet fun nel method (Sohle-
nius 1979), killed by heat , fixed in cold TAF and then trans-
ferred to anhydrous glycerine by a slow evaporation me thod
(Hooper 1970). For light microsco pe (L M) studies, nema-
to des were mounted on m icroscope s lides as descr ibed by
Bostrom and Gydemo (1983). Nema todes to be studied by
scanning e lectron microscope (SEM) were proc essed as de-
scribed in Bostrom (1988) . Identification o f nematod es to
species level was mad e using LM. Measurements and rat ios
are given as: mean ± S.E. (range).
Cephalobus persegnis Ba stian, 1865
(F igs lA-B)
Measurements

Fema les (n = 4): L = 598±10 (579-619) 11m; width =

MATERIALS AND METHOD S
Samples from Ireland were tak en by the au thor o n the 19th
June 1991 fro m No ughaval on the Burren, which is a large
limestone area in the west er n pa rt of th e islan d. The vege ta-
tio n consisted o f gra sses and m any sp ecies o f he rbs of Medi-
terranean and Arc tic-alpine origin. T he soil sampled was dry
and contained o rga nic m ateri al likc roo ts.
128
29±O.7 (27-30) 11m; a = 21±0.5 (20-22); pharynx = 147±3
(139 -153) 11m; b = 4.I±O.1 (3.8-4.2); tail = 37±0.6 (35-38)
11m; c = 16.3±O.3 ( 15.6-16.7); c' = 2.2±O.04 (2.1-2.3); V =
68±2 (65-72); V-A[[" = 4.2±0.2 (3.6-4.5).
Males (n = 3): L = 605±46 (514-664) 11m; width = 29±3
(24-33) 11m; a = 21±O.3 (20-21); pharynx = 143±3 (136-146)
11m; b = 4.2±0.2 (3.8-4.5); tail 36±2 (33-41) 11m; e = 16.7±1.1
(15.6-19.0); e' = 1.8±O.1 (1.6-2.0); T = 59±1 (58-60); spicules
= 23±1 (21-24) 11m; gub ernaculum = 11.7±O.3 (11-12) 11m.
Afro-Asian Journal of Nematology Vol. 3, No. 2, 1993

Fig. 2. Eucepha lobus hooperi. A: ventral view of head; B: en fa ce view; C: ventral view of female tail. A crobeloides nalll~<'
D-F show variability in anterior structures, D: lateral view; E: sublateral view; F: subventral view; G-I: variab ility in fem ale
tail shape; G: lateral view; II : subventral view; I: sublateral view. Arrow points at phasmid. Bar is l um in A,B,D,E,F; 4 1-1m
in C and 21-1m in G,II,I.
131

Male: Reproductive system monarchic, test is reflexed an-
teriorly. Spicules cephaloboid, ve ntrally arcuate, 23 fl m lon g;
gubernaculu m wedge-shaped, 13 u rn lon g (on ly o ne specime n
possible to measure). Papillae: Tho pairs of p re anal subve n-
tra l papillae, one pair of adanal subve ntra I papillae; a single
ven tra-median papilla on anterior clo acal lip; one pair of cau -
da l subventral papillae, one pair of caudal lateral papill ae ,
one pair of caudal subdorsal papillae, a single ven tr a-me dian
papilla close to tail terminus. Tail ventrally arcua te, conoid
with 1.5-2 u rn long ventral mucro. Ph asmids at abou t 50 per
cent of ta il length.
Description
A neotype and topotypes of E. striatus were described by
Anderson and Hooper (1971) and the specime ns from Ireland
agree well with that descrip tion. The gen us Eucep halobus was
establisbed by Steiner (1936a) for cephalobids with only t ~rc e
lips. The chosen type species of the genus, E. oxyuroides (de
Man, 1876) Steiner, 1936, however, was described as having
six lips and Steiner later (1936b) emend ed the diagnosis of
the genus accord ingly. Andrassy (1967) also applied this diag-
nosis of Eucephalohus in his revision of the subfamily Cepha-
lobinac. Anderson and Hooper (1971) showed th at E. striatus
in addition to the six (three dupl ex) lips, has three labial pro-
bolae, bifurcate with short poin ted o r rou nded fu rcula. Rashid
et al . (1985), on the other hand, reported six high, pointed lips
and no labial probolae in th e specimens of a population o f E.
striatus fro m Brazil. Bostrom (1985) in an SEM-study of three
species of Eucephulobus, viz. E. striatus, E. oxyuroides and E .
mucronatus (Koz lowska & Roguska-Wasilewska, 1963)
Andrassy, 1967; corroborate d th e findings by Ande rson and
Hooper (1971) of the structu res of th e anterior region in the
first species and also found similar organisations in the other
two. Late r Bostrom (1988, 1990) showed the same kind of an-
terior structures in two o ther species, E. araicus Loa f, 1971
and E. hooperi Marinari-Palmisano, 1967. It has, however,
also been found that specimens of E. oxyuroides may possess
six separate lips in accordance with th e d iagnosis of th e genus
(Bostrom, in press). So me species presently placed in E uce-
phalobus have been shown to express a large var iabi lity in the
anterior organisation. It is thus pl ausible th at species like E.
striatus, with a p resumably more stable appearan ce of cepha-
lic and labial probolae, will be withdrawn fro m th e genus.
Eucephalobus hooperi Marina r i-Pa lmisa no, 1967
(F igs 2A-C)
Measurements
Females (n = 2): L = 459-463 11m; widt h = 21-22 11m; a =
21 -22; pharynx = 122-127 11m; b = 3.6-3.8; tail = 50-51 11m; c
= 9.1-9.2; c' = 4.1-4.3; V = 63; V-A[[ = 2.5.
132
Ce phalobids from Ireland and Malaysia: Bostrom
Description
Female: Body slightly ventrally arcuate. Cu ticle annulated,
annulcs 1.6-1.75 urn wide. Lateral field with th ree incisures
extend ing to ph asmid. Three pairs of lips, bearing 6+4 papil-
lae and two amp hids. Three bifurcate labial probolae con -
nected basally by tangential ridges. Cheilorhabdions bar-
shaped in lateral view. Cheilostome wide, second stoma sec-
tion intermediat e in width between cheilosto me and third sec-
tion or similar to the latter. Sto ma length 11-12 11m. Pharynx
cephaloboid, corpus cylindrical, isth mus narrow; eli-ra tio
3.1-3.2. Bulb rounded, 15-16 11m long, 13 11m wide. Cardia not
prominent, enveloped by intestinal cells. Nerve ring 85 urn
and excretory pore 82-88 urn from anteri or end . Deirids at
level o f anterior part of isthmus, 94-98 u rn from anterior end.
Reproductive system cephaloboid, mo nodelphic, pradelphic;
genital branch refl exed at oviduc t, straig ht or with two flex-
ures posteri or to vulva. Vulval lips slightly p rotruding. Egg 32
x 14 11m. Sperma theca empty, 14-19 11m long. PU ll short,
16-17 11m long, corresponding to 0.7-0.8 1lW. Rectum 15-16
urn long, 1.2-1.4 ABW. Tail conoid-elo ngate with pointed
terminus, ab out 30 annules ve ntrally. Phasmids at 29-32 per
ce nt of tail lcngth.
Male: No t found
Discussion
The specime ns agree well with the original descriptio n of E.
hooperi by M arinari-Palmisano (1967) and a population from
Kenya described by Bostrom (1990). This is thu s the third re-
cord of the species. The presence of wha t ap pears to be bifur-
cate lab ial probolae also in th is species (see d iscussio n for E.
striatus above), speaks for a positio n of E. hooperi outside
Eucephalobus s. str. E. hooperi belo ngs to a gro up of species
that may be difficult to ide ntify and separa te fro m species of
the gen us Pseudacrobeles Ste ine r, 1938 by using light micro-
scopy o nly. A revision of the genus Eucephalobus in line with
that performed by De Ley et al. (1993a, b) o n Pseudacrobeles
would thus be of great value .
A crobetoides nauus (de M a n, 1880) And erson, 1968
(Figs 2D -1)
Measurem ents
Females (n = 14) : L = 367±6 (328-407) 11m; width =
22±O.7 (19-26) 11m; a = 17±O.5 (14-20); pharynx = 96±1
(94-105) 11m; b = 3.7±0.1 (3.3-4.0); tail = 28±1 (24-35) 11m; c
= 13.5±OA (12.1-16.0); c' = 2.2±O.1 (1.9-2.6); V = 65±OA
(63-68); V-A[[ = 3.8±O.1 (3.3-4.6).
Descri ption
Fema le: Body sligh tly ve nt rally arcuate when heat relaxed.
Cuticle an nulated, annulcs 1.5-1.75 u rn wide. Lateral field
 Afro-Asian Journal of Nematology Vol. 3, No. 2, 1993
with five incisures, posteriorly reduced to three and one ex-
tend ing posterior to phasmid. Three pairs of lips. simple or
with extensions along the primary cephalic axils, bearing 6+4
papillae and two amphids. Three knobbed to conoid labial
probolae connected basally by tangential ridges. Cheilorhab-
dions ovo id or bacilliform in la teral view. Cheilostome wide,
rest of stoma narrow; total stoma length 10·13 um. Pharynx
ccphaloboid, metacarpus fusiform, isthmus narrow; eli-ratio
2.8-3.3. lJulb oval with valves; 15-18 11m long and 12-13 11m
wide. Cardia not prominent, enveloped by intestinal cells.
Nerve ring surrounds isthmus at 72-75 urn from anterior end.
Excretory pore 76-85 urn from anterior end . Dcirids at level
of posterior part of isthmus to middle of bulb, 88·96 11m from
anterior end. Reproductive system cephaloboid, monodelphic,
prodelphic; genital br anch reflexed at oviduct; ovary varying
from straight to with double flexure posteri or to vulva. Sper-
matheca small, 5-8 11m long. PUB 5-7 11m long. Vulval lips
protruding. Rectum 13-15 11m long, about one AIJW. Anus a
transverse slit with posterior lip protruding. Tail conoid,
usually with pointed terminus; rounded, irregular and mucro-
nate term ini also seen. Phasmids at 18-40 per cent of tii]
length .
Ma le: Not found .
Discussion
The morphological variability in the specimens of this po-
pulation is well within the ranges reported for populations
from Canada (Anderso n, 1968), Sweden (Bostrom and Gyde-
me, 1983), IJrazil (Rashid et al., 1985) and Krakatau (Rashid
et al., 1989). Anderson (1968) showed a variability in labial
probolae shape rangin g from low-rounded over knobbed and
conoid to apiculatc induced by various environmental condi-
tions. He also recorded tail shapes from rounded to conoid-
apiculate.
A species whose identity has been confused withA. nanus
is A . buetschlii (de Man , 1884) Steiner & lJuhrer, 1933.
Anderson (1968) stated that the only difference between the
two species is the number of incisures in the later al field, five
vs. three. Rashid et al. (1985) considered their Brazilian speci-
mens as A . nanus, although some had only three incisures. -
Their specimens, on the othe r hand, showed a vast variability
in tail shape, which may imply that the popul ation was not en -
tirely conspecific. Drawings in Rashid et al. (1985: Fig.
16D-E) show presence of a short PUll. Zell (1987) discussed
this identity problem at len gth and concluded that there are
two valid species, viz. A . buetschlii with three incisures and a
shor t (4-7 J.1.m long) PUB and A. nanuswith five incisures and
no PUB. The combination of five incisures and a short PUB
in the population described here traverses the two species and
would indicate that there is only one valid species,A. nanus.
133
Acknowledgements. The author is grateful to Prof. Heikki
Hippa for providing soil samples from Malaysia. The study
was supported by A. E Regnells Fund of the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Natural Science Re-
search Council (NFR).
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