Nguyen D. Tu, A. Vanreusel, N. Smol, P. K. Long, Nguyen V. Thanh - Paracomesoma paralongispiculum sp. n.: a new species of nematode from mangroves of Can Gio (Vietnam) and taxonomy of the genus Paracomesoma Hope et Murphy, 1972 (Nematoda: Areolaimida)

BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2013, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 144-148

Paracomesoma paralongispiculum sp. n.: a new species of nematode from mangroves of Can Gio (Vietnam) and taxonomy of the genus Paracomesoma Hope et Murphy, 1972 (Nematoda: Areolaimida)

¹Department of Nematology, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam;
²Department of Biology, Ghent University, B-9000 Gent, Belgium;
³Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Hanoi, Vietnam

E-mail:;

To-date, 13 species of free-living marine nematodes belonging to the genus Paracomesoma Hope et Murphy, 1972 have been described. One more species of this genus, Paracomesoma paralongispiculum sp. n., was found in bottom sediments of the mangrove forest of Can Gio (in the vicinity of Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam). The new species differs from the close species P. curvitatus Gagarin et Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007 in having very long spicules (12 times body diameter at anus) and 11-12 papilloid supplements all confined within the spicular region.

Key words: free-living marine nematode, new species, Comesomatidae, Paracomesoma, mangrove forest, Can Gio, Vietnam.