On morphology and habitat of Longidorus andalusicus Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez et al., 2013 (Nematoda: Longidoridae) recovered in the North Frisian wadden sea island Hooge, Germany

Abstract

A Longidorus population, recovered in the small island Hooge close to the coast of the German Bight in 1993 for the first time, had initially been identified as a representative of a still undescribed species. Morphological studies and molecular analyses now revealed species identity with Longidorus andalusicus recently described from southern Spain. The Hooge population occurred in the rhizosphere of Halimione portulacoides and other halophilic plants at a site often inundated by sea water, together with brackish water and marine nematodes. Morphological characters supplementing the original description of L. andalusicus are presented and an emended species diagnosis is proposed. The potential origin of the species and the means of dispersal to northern Europe are discussed.