Ref ID : 5929
R.V. Anderson; Additional diagnostic characters and relationships of Merlinius laminatus (Wu, 1969) Siddiqi, 1970 (Nematoda: Merlininae). Can.J.Zool. 55:1923-1926, 1977
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Diagnostic characters of males and females not previously reported for Merlinius laminatus (Wu, 1969) Siddiqi, 1970 are described and illustrated. The most important adjunct characters were the presence of 56-58 longitudinal body striae and a postanal intestinal sac in females. Other morphological and diagnostic features of the cuticle, head, stylet, vulva, vagina, tail, spicules, bursa, phasmids, and position of the excretory pore are clarified. Phasmid size, when compared in selected species of Merlinius, does not appear to be a valid generic character. Scutylenchus Jairajpuri, 1971 is considered a synonym of Merlinius and S. mamillatus (Tobar-Jimenez, 1966) Jairajpuri, 1971 is transferred to the genus Merlinius Siddiqi, 1970. Relationships of M. laminatus to M. tesselatus (Goodey, 1952) Siddiqi, 1970 and M. mamillatus n. comb. are discussed.