Trissonchulus oceanus Cobb 1920
Creators: name: Chen, Yu Zhen
name: Guo, Yu Qing
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Nematoda
Adenophorea
Enoplida
Ironidae
Trissonchulus
Trissonchulus oceanus

description: Trissonchulus oceanus Cobb 1920
(Figure 12, Figure 13, Table 6)
Material. Five males and two females were collected from Station ZZDS H1, H2 and H 3 in May 2013. ♂1 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H3U104, ♂2 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H2D116, ♂3 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H1U101, ♂4 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H2U104, ♂5 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H1D103, ♀1 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H3U103, ♀2 on slide number ZZDS 20130518 H2D116.
Material locality and habitat. All specimens were collected from intertidal sandy sediment at Dongshan Island, Zhangzhou City, East China Sea. Station ZZDS: 117.4836°E, 23.7081°N. Silt+clay: 3.27%.
Measurements (Table 6)
Description. Male. Body cylindrical. Cuticle smooth and unornamented. Head region set off by a suture line, bearing an inner circle of six minute labial papillae near the anterior end of the lips. Ten cephalic papillae small and rounded, the submedian pairs scarcely distinguishable as double. Amphids pouch-shaped, about 0.38–0.46 cbd, adjacent to the suture line of the head. Buccal cavity consists of a cup-shaped anterior section and a strongly cuticularized posterior tube, length 7–10 µm and 37–41 µm respectively. Three solid teeth of almost equal size embedded on the border of the cup-shaped anterior section and cuticularized posterior tube of buccal cavity. The inner wall of cup-shaped anterior section of buccal cavity covered with numerous rows of minute denticles. Pharynx 0.12–0.14 times body length, slightly swelling in stomatal region and gradually enlarging at posterior end but not forming a bulb, corresponding body diameter 40–56 µm at posterior extremity. Сardia well developed, surrounded by intestinal tissue. Nerve ring encircling pharynx at about 42–48% of its length. Excretory pore opening ventrally 30–40 µm from anterior end, ventral gland not observed. Tail short, stout and slightly curved ventrally, with three pairs of scattered papillae, which are associated with more or less marked elevations of the cuticle. Spinneret opening ventrally. Anterior lip of the cloaca with a swelling pierced by a pore, and a similar swelling on the tail behind the spinneret. Male caudal region armed with 2–4 pairs of precloacal and 1–2 pairs of postcloacal, but pre-spinneret ventral submedian papillae. Both precloacal and postcloacal ventral submedian papillae appear to be tube-like under the cuticle.
Testes paired and opposed. Spicules paired and broad, slightly curved ventrally, with cephalated proximal end and central septum. Conspicuous copulatory muscles are present. Gubernaculum relatively short and well developed in its distal part.
Female. Similar to male in general characteristics, except tail more round, neither precloacal nor postcloacal ventro-submedian papillae present, the swellings pierced by a pore on the anterior lip of the anus and behind the spinneret are both absent, but with three pairs of papillae which are associated with more or less marked elevations of the cuticle present, as in male.
Reproductive system with anterior oviduct present but anterior ovary strongly reduced and apparently nonfunctional, posterior oviduct and ovary well developed and reflexed. Vulva strongly cuticularized, situated at about 47%–49% of body length.
Diagnosis and discussion. Trissonchulus oceanus was described by Cobb in 1920 and has been described several times. It is characterized by its buccal cavity with minute denticles; tail short, wide and bluntly rounded; spicules stumpy and strongly blunt; male with caudal papillae and supplements; female reproductive system with anterior oviduct present but anterior ovary strongly reduced and posterior oviduct and ovary well developed. (Cobb 1920, Platonova & Mokievsky 1994). Our specimens conform to the original description by Cobb in 1920, but differ from it in smaller body size (2.3–2.7 mm vs. more than 3.6 mm) and the number of precloacal and postcloacal ventro-submedian papillae (2–4 pairs of precloacal and 1–2 pairs of postcloacal vs. 3 precloacal and 4 postcloacal on each side) (Cobb 1920). Compared with the redescription of the holotype from the Red Sea by Gerlach in 1967, our specimens differ in smaller body size (2273–2673 µm vs. 3247–3335 µm), longer pharynx (b 7.3–8.4 vs. 8.6–9), posterior situation of vulva (V 47 %–49% vs. 41%); fewer precloacal supplements (2–3 vs. 9) (Gerlach 1967).
description: Published as part of Chen, Yu Zhen & Guo, Yu Qing, 2015, Three new and two known free-living marine nematode species of the family Ironidae from the East China Sea, pp. 151-175 in Zootaxa 4018 (2) on pages 169-170, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4018.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/253985