Manunema kithara Barnes & Ferrero, 2009, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Barnes, Natalie
name: Ferrero, Timothy John
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Nematoda
Chromadorea
Plectida
Leptolaimidae
Manunema
Manunema kithara

description: Manunema kithara sp. nov.
Type specimens: Ten males, six females and five juveniles. Holotype male NHM (London) 2007.851 and one paratype male NHM (London) 2007.852 on one slide. Collected by Stuart Livesey and Nick O’Brien on 3 June 2004. Other paratypes NHM (London) 2007.853-862 on a second slide. Collected on several occasions between June 2002 and June 2004.
Type locality and habitat: Shuwaikh (29º 21’ 41.8”N 47º 57’ 19.2”E) mid- and upper tide levels on public recreational beach within Kuwait Bay adjacent to the commercial port, surrounded by extensive urban development. Relatively steeply sloping sandy beach, bounded to seaward by extensive limestone flats.
Also found at Sha’ab (29º 20’ 53.9”N 48º 02’ 21.4”E) mid-tide level on sandy beach at the mouth of Kuwait Bay, and Kazima Bay (29º 23’ 49.8”N 47º 44’ 43.4”E) mid-tide level within Kuwait Bay on a beach composed of sandy mud bounded by salt marsh to landward, firm sandy clay in the upper eulittoral, and deep clay/silt on the lower intertidal.
Measurements: Table 2.
Description: MALE (Figs. 1, 2): Body small, both ends tapered. Cuticle coarsely striated. Narrow head and trunk region, diameter of body markedly increases at about 60% of oesophageal length. Maximum body width at mid-point of oesophageal bulb, body diameter decreases to posterior of bulb, and then gradually increases to mid-body before tapering to terminal spinneret.
Labia appearing fused, labial papillae not visible. Four cephalic setae (2.2 hd long) located about 0.6 hd posterior to anterior extremity. Amphid small (diameter 0.2 cbd), round, sometimes appearing cup-shaped. Somatic setae about 2.8 µm long, inserted on peduncles 2.1 µm long, anteriormost level with anterior of oesophageal bulb; anterior two lateroventral, a ring of four at mid-bulb region, then two longitudinal rows of about 10 approximately equally-spaced pairs of sub-ventral setae alternating with pairs of sub-dorsal setae to cloaca. Two pairs of sub-dorsal setae posterior to cloaca.
Buccal cavity narrow, simple and unarmed in labial region, narrow cuticularised tube enclosed by cuticularised rings posteriorly. Oesophageal musculature begins as narrow tube behind buccal cavity, then swells into large double bulb (44 % of oesophagus length) with thickened lining of lumen. Oesophageal bulb narrowing at nerve-ring, posterior part equal in length to anterior but larger in diameter. Cardia short (3.6 µm long).
Diorchic but anterior testis reduced, both testes outstretched. Spicule simple curved (length 1.9 abd, measured as curve), gubernaculum absent/reduced. Two precloacal supplements (1.6 abd and 2.7 abd from cloaca), paddle-shaped, under-side of distal portion transversely ridged, distal two thirds of supplements held outside the body. One mid-ventral papilla located 0.4 abd anterior to cloaca. Large cloacal tube clearly protruding from body wall. Three dorsal caudal glands positioned along side cloaca. Tail 4.5 abd long, with terminal spinneret.
FEMALE: (Fig. 3): Similar to male, except tail longer (4.7 abd). Vulva at 50 % of body length, pore-like, clearly protrudes from body wall with thickened cuticle, coarse striations continuing over raised part and finer striations on inner vulva. Vagina short and straight without sclerotizations or epiptygmata. Didelphic, but anterior ovary shorter, ovaries outstretched. Ventral gland cell visible beside oesophageal bulb, but full extent not visible and position of anterior pore not seen. Supplements absent.
Etymology: Kithara (Greek) ancient Greek musical instrument, word now adopted for the modern guitar. Referring to the guitar-like double bulb of the oesophagus.
Male Female Juvenile Character HOLOTYPE Paratypes (n = 9) Paratypes (n = 6) Paratypes (n=5) Body length (L) 449.3 442.0 (409.7–461.8) 451.0 (423.8 – 515.0) 271.8 (241.7 – 315.2) BL 44.2 42.57 (38.2–48.6) 41.55 (37.7 – 47.5) 42.25 (41.55 – 43.61) Bp 50.3 55.88 (50.0–60.4) 57.20 (55.2 – 62.4) 54.47 (51.60 – 56.39) n – number of individuals measured; n/v –not visible; '-' – not applicable.
Diagnosis: Manunema kithara sp. nov. is distinct from all other species of the genus in the extent of swelling of the oesophageal bulb and surrounding body tissue. The precloacal supplements in the male differ in form from those of other species in the genus. The funnel-shaped extension to the cloaca is also larger, and the males are diorchic, with the anterior gonad reduced but still visible.
description: Published as part of Barnes, Natalie & Ferrero, Timothy John, 2009, Two new species of Manunema (Plectida: Peresianidae) from the Arabian Gulf, with notes on the phylogeny of the genus, pp. 43-58 in Zootaxa 2053 on pages 47-49, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.186631