Bernardius lineatus gen. n., sp. n. (Enoplida: Enchelidiidae), a remarkable nematode with ornamented cuticle from a Brazilian tropical sandy beach

Abstract

Bernardius lineatus gen. n., sp. n. is described from a sandy beach at Tamandaré Bay, Brazil. It possesses the main characteristics of the family Enchelidiidae (Nematoda: Enoplida), but is unique by the presence of a body cuticle ornamented with longitudinal ridges formed by small rods, an entirely different character to all other members of the order Enoplida. The new genus is also characterised by a long, subdivided, buccal cavity with two subventral teeth and numerous denticles and the arrangement of the anterior sensilla in two crowns, the anterior crown being papilliform and the posterior crown consisting of six external labial and four cephalic sensilla, setiform. The relationships of the genera within the Enchelidiidae are discussed and an emended family diagnosis provided

The Influence of Tidal and Rainfall Cycles on Intertidal Nematodes: A Case Study in a Tropical Sandy Beach

“…*) 39 genera in Bananal Beach -Rio de Janeiro (MARIA et al, 2008) and 46 genera in Coqueiros Beach -Rio de Janeiro (MARIA et al, 2008). All 48 genera had already been recorded on the Brazilian coast (VENEKEY et al, 2010) with the exception of Bernardius which was recently described by FONSECA-GENEVOIS et al (2009) as a new genus with specimens collected in Tamandaré during the present study. Apart from the new species Bernardius lineatus, of the nine species identified by name, Bathylaimus capacosus, Cynura cerambus and Mesacanthion hirsutum were found for the first time in Brazil.…”

“…Nevertheless, few ecological studies identify them at genera/species level, and studies that do are mostly restricted to temperate regions, such as Europe (GHESKIERE et al, 2004, KOTWICKI et al, 2005, MARIA et al, 2012 and Canada (SHARMA;WEBSTER, 1983). In tropical regions, studies have been performed in Australia (NICHOLAS; HODDA, 1999, NICHOLAS, 2001, HOURSTON et al, 2005, Ecuador (CALLES et al, 2005) and French Polynesia (GOURBAULT et al, 1995).…”

Five new species of Oncholaimellus (Oncholaimidae: Nematoda) from north-east Brazil, with an emended diagnosis and an updated key to the genus

“…Gourbault & Vincx (1990) described two new species with intersexuality, Spirobolbolaimus boucherorum and Sabatieria maboyae, and one intersex individual of Dorylaimopsis pellucidum (Cobb, 1920). Intersexuality was also observed in Sphaerolaimus gracilis de Man, 1876 by Turpeenniemi (1997), in Acantholaimus barbatus by Miljutina & Miljutin (2012), in Enoplus michaelseni Linstow, 1896 by De Man (1904) and in Bernardius lineatus by Fonsêca-Genevois et al (2009). Oncholaimellus is the first genus of the family reported to show intersexuality.…”

Influence of the tidal and rainfall cycles on the population structure and density of Mesacanthion hirsutum gerlach (nematoda, thoracostomopsidae) on a tropical sandy beach (Tamandaré Bay, Pernambuco, Brazil)

“…GERLACH, 1954GERLACH, , 1956aGERLACH, , 1956bGERLACH, , 1957aGERLACH, , 1957bESTEVES, 2004;VENEKEY et al, 2005;CASTRO et al, 2006;FONSECA-GENEVOIS et al 2009) which are certainly necessary and constitute essential first steps to the knowledge of this group on such an extensive coastline. Ecological studies on nematodes at low taxonomical level have just been begun with works such as those of NETTO and GALLUCCI (2003), FONSECA-GENEVOIS et al (2004), DA ROCHA et al (2006) andFONSECA-GENEVOIS et al (2006). Also recently, were published the first studies concerning the population structure of Oncholaimus cobbi Kreis, Comesoma arenae Gerlach and Daptonema oxycerca DE MAN by ESTEVES et al (2003), ESTEVES et al (2004) andMARIA et al (2008), respectively.…”

“…Mesacanthion hirsutum was described as a new species by Gerlach in (1953) for the Mediterranean Sea, later being found in the Red Sea (GERLACH, 1964;GERLACH, 1967) and the Exe estuary (WARWICK, 1971). Even though this species was discovered more than 50 years ago, nothing is yet known about its population structure.…”