Rotylenchulus borealis Loof & Oostenbrink, 1962

Members of the genus Rotylenchulus Lindford & Oliveira, 1940 are all parasitic on plant roots and can be found world-wide. Typical for this genus is their very long dorsal gland oriffice (at about 50% of the stylet knobs-metacorpus length) in combination with kidney-shaped sedentary adult females. Young females and males (see pictures below) are vermiform and mobile. The sedentary adult females also produce a small egg sac, as produced by vulva glands. Males show a reduced stylet and a very small bursa. Rotylenchulus borealis was described from the Netherlands and can be found on grasses and maize.

More pictures of Rotylenchulus borealis:

Rotylenchulus borealis: male body
Rotylenchulus borealis: male body

Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with reduced stylet and long DGO (between stylet knobs and metacorpus)
Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with reduced stylet and long DGO (between stylet knobs and metacorpus)

Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with focus on head and stylet with small knobs
Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with focus on head and stylet with small knobs

Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with pharyngeal gland overlap partly visible
Rotylenchulus borealis male: anterior body with pharyngeal gland overlap partly visible
Rotylenchulus borealis male: posterior body with spicule and hyaline tail part
Rotylenchulus borealis male: posterior body with spicule and hyaline tail part
Rotylenchulus borealis male: posterior body in ventral view.
Rotylenchulus borealis male: posterior body in ventral view.

Rotylenchulus borealis: spicule in ventral view
Rotylenchulus borealis: spicule in ventral view

Rotylenchulus borealis male: hyaline tail region and pointed tip
Rotylenchulus borealis male: hyaline tail region and pointed tip

(Click on the pictures for an enlargement, © Wageningen University & Research, Laboratory of Nematology/Pictures: Hanny van Megen)