Ref ID : 5970
J. Curran; Morphometrics of Romanomermis culicivorax Ross and Smith, 1976 (Nematoda: Mermithidae). Can.J.Zool. 59:2365-2374, 1981
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Intraspecific variability and the influence of environmental factors on the morphometrics of Romanomermis culicivorax Ross and Smith, 1976 were determined by rearing the progeny of a single mating pair under different parasite intensities, host species, and temperatures. Individual measurements were frequently affected by environment and discriminant analysis revealed differences in overall shape between sibling populations. These effects were not constant within or between sexes. The growth relationships between measurements were examined and because of allometry a number of ratios commonly used in mermithid taxonomy at the species level were rejected. This led to an evaluation of morphometrics in species diagnosis.