DESCRIPTION OF ROTYLENCHUS CAPSICUMI N. SP., AND MORPHOMETRIC DATA ON FIVE KNOWN SPECIES OF THE GENUS HELICOTYLENCHUS STEINER, 1945 (NEMATODE: HOPLOLAIMIDAE) RECORDED FROM PAKISTAN

Abstract

Rotylenchus capsicumi n. sp., collected from Quetta, Pakistan around the roots of chillies (Capsicum annuum L.) is described and illustrated herein. This new species can be separated from all the species of the genus by a combination of morphological characteristics like presence of heavy punctuation all over the body, truncate head, large stylet and dorsoconvex tail with ventral projection. Five known species of the genusHelicotylenchus i.e., Helicotylenchus abunaamai, H. arachisi, H. falcatus, H. platyurus and H. seshadrii are reported for the first time in Pakistan.