Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5787 No. 2: 7 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5787.2.5
Page range: 313-328
Abstract views: 42
PDF downloaded: 2

Neotype designation and redescription of Mesacanthion armatum Timm, 1961 (Nematoda, Enoplida) along with an updated taxonomic key to the species of Mesacanthion (Filipjev, 1927) De Coninck & Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1933

EIACP Centre; Zoological Survey of India; M-Block; New Alipore; Kolkata–700053; India
Nematoda Marine nematodes morphology morphometry ala placoides Bay of Bengal dichotomous key

Abstract

Neotype of Mesacanthion armatum is designated and the redescription is elaborated with novel morphological feature, along with comparative study of types descriptions, with the help of new specimens collected in the northeast coast of India. Despite of the dissimilarities between the original description and the present study, morphometrics along with morphological accounts were analysed. Relevance of those characters was then evaluated for confirmation to consider them as the same species. Furthermore, an updated species key of Mesacanthion is presented, along with discussion of morphological traits.

 

References

  1. Allgén, C.A. (1929) Neue freilebende marine Nematoden von der Westküste Schwedens. Zoologische Jahrbucher, Systematik, 57 (5), 431–496.
  2. Allgén, C.A. (1930) Über eine neue Art des Genus Enoplolaimus de Man, Enoplolaimus gracilisetosus von der Macquarieinsel. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 92, 189–191.
  3. Allgén, C.A. (1932) Weitere Beiträge zur Kenntnis der marinen Nematodenfauna der Campbellinsel. Nyt Magasin for Naturvidenskaberne, 70, 97–198.
  4. Allgén, C.A. (1935) Die freilebenden Nematoden des Öresunds. Capita Zoologica, 6 (3), 1–192.
  5. Allgén, C.A. (1947) West American Marine Nematodes (Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914–16. LXXV). Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening, 110, 65–219.
  6. Allgén, C.A. (1951) Pacific Freeliving Marine Nematodes. (Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914–16. LXXVI). Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening, 113, 263–411.
  7. Allgén, C.A. (1959) Freeliving marine nematodes. Further Zoological Results of the Swedish Antarctic expedition 1901–1903 under the direction of Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld. Vol. 2. No. 2. P.A. Norstedt & Söner, Stockholm, 293 pp.
  8. Bird, A.F. & Bird, J. (1991) The Structure of Nematodes. 2nd Edition. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, California, pp. 52–56.
  9. Boucher, G. (1977) Nématodes des sables fins infralittoraux de la Pierre Noire (Manche occidentale). IV. Enoplida. Bulletin du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Série 3, Zoologie 325, 468, 733–752. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.282054
  10. Chitwood, B.G. & Chitwood, M.B. (1937) An Introduction to Nematology. Section I. Part I. Babylon, New York, New York, 123 pp.
  11. Coull, B.C. (1973) Estuarine meiofauna—A review, trophic relationships and microbial interactions. In: Stevenson, L.H. & Colwell, R.R. (Eds.), Estuarine Microbial Ecology. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, pp. 499–511.
  12. Datta, T.K. & Bertocci, I. (2023) Integrating spatial and temporal patterns of free-living nematodes with physical and chemical environmental traits: implications for coastal ecological monitoring. Hydrobiologia, Special Issue: Trends in Aquatic Ecology IV, 850 (6), 1355–1391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-04945-2
  13. De Coninck, L.A. & Schuurmans Stekhoven, J.H. (1933) The freeliving marine nemas of the Belgian Coast. II: with general remarks on the structure and the system of nemas. Mémoires du Musée royal d’histoire naturelle de Belgique, 58, 3–163.
  14. De Coninck, L.A. (1965) Classe des Nématodes: Systématique des Nématodes et sous-classe des Adenophorea. In: Grassé, P.P. (Chief Ed.), Traité de Zoologie, 4 (2), 586–681.
  15. de Man, J.G. (1880) Die Einheimischen, frei in der reinen Erde und im süssen Wasser lebende: Nematoden. Monographisch Bearbeitet. Vorläufiger Bericht und descriptiv-systematischer Theil. Tijdschrift van de Nederlandse Dierkundige Vereeniging, 5, 1–104.
  16. Diesing, K.M. (1861) Revision der Nematoden. Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-naturwissenchaftlischen Classe, 42 (28), 595–736, 1 pl.
  17. Ditlevsen, H. (1919) Marine freeliving nematodes from Danish waters. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk naturhistorisk Forening i Kjøbenhavn, 70 (7), 147–214. [in Russian]
  18. Ditlevsen, H. (1930) Marine free-living Nematodes from New Zealand. (Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914–16). Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk naturhistorisk Forening i Kjøbenhavn, Bd. 87, 201–242.
  19. Dujardin, F. (1845) Histoire naturelle des helminthes ou vers intestinaux. Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret, Paris, xvi + 654 + 15 pp., pls. 1–12.4. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.10123
  20. Filipjev, I.N. (1918) Free-living marine nematodes of the Sevastopol area. Transactions of the Zoological Laboratory and the Sevastopol Biological Station of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Series II No 4 (Issue I & II), 255 pp. & 203 pp.
  21. Filipjev, I.N. (1927) Les Nématodes libres des mers septentrionales appartenant a la famille des Enoplidae. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 91A (6), 1–216.
  22. Filipjev, I.N. (1929) Les Nématodes libres de la baie de la Neva et de l’extrémité orientale du Golfe de Finlande. Archiv für Hydrobiologie, XX & XXI, 637–699 & 1–64, 35 figs.
  23. Gagarin, V.G. & Klerman, A.K. (2006) Two new species of Mesacanthion Filipjev, 1927 (Nematoda: Enoplida) from the Mediterranean Sea. Nematology, 8 (4), 533–538. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854106778614001
  24. Gal’tsova, V.V. (1976) Free-living marine nematodes as components of the meiofauna of the Chupa Bay, White Sea. Issledovaniya Fauny Morei, Nematody i ikh rol’ v meiobentose, 15 (23), 165–272.
  25. Gerlach, S.A. & Riemann, F. (1974) The Bremerhaven Checklist of Aquatic Nematodes: A Catalogue of Nematoda Adenophorea Excluding the Dorylaimida. Part 2. In: Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Meeresforschung in Bremerhaven. Supplement 4. Kommissionsverlag Franz Leuwer, Bremen, pp. 404–735.
  26. Gerlach, S.A. (1953) Die Nematodenbesiedlung des Sandstrandes und des Küstengrundwassers an der italienischen Küste I. Systematischer Teil. Archivio zoologico italiano, 37, 517–640.
  27. Gerlach, S.A. (1954) Nématodes marins libres des eaux souterraines littorales de Tunisie et d’Algérie. Vie et Milieu, 4, 221–237.
  28. Gerlach, S.A. (1957a) Marine Nematoden von der Kongo-Mündung. Bulletin de l’Institut royal des sciences naturelles de Belgique, 33 (28), 1–16.
  29. Gerlach, S.A. (1957b) Die Nematodenfauna des Sandstrandes an der Küste von Mittelbrasilien (Brasilianische Meerse-Nematoden IV). Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin, 33 (2), 411–459. https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnz.19570330206
  30. Gerlach, S.A. (1967) Freilebende Meeres-Nematoden von den Sarso-Inseln (Rotes Meer). Meteor-Forschungsergebnisse, Reihe D: Biologie, 2, 19–43.
  31. Hooper, D.J. (1986) Handling, fixing, staining and mounting nematodes. In: Southey, J.F. (Ed.), Laboratory Methods for Work with Plant and Soil Nematodes. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, pp. 59–80.
  32. Inglis, W.G. (1964) The marine Enoplida (Nematoda): a comparative study of the head. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology, 11 (4), 265–376. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.4719
  33. Inglis, W.G. (1966) Marine nematodes from Durban, South Africa. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, 14 (4), 81–106.
  34. Inglis, W.G. (1983) An Outline Classification of the Phylum Nematoda. Australian Journal of Zoology, 31 (2), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO9830243
  35. Jeong, R., Tchesunov, A.V. & Lee, W. (2019) Bibliographic revision of Mesacanthion Filipjev, 1927 (Nematoda: Thoracostomopsidae) with description of a new species from Jeju Island, South Korea. PeerJ, 7, e8023. http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8023
  36. Lo Russo, V. & Pastor de Ward, C.T. (2021) Three new species of Mesacanthion Filipjev, 1927 (Nematoda: Thoracostomopsidae) from Argentine coasts. European Journal of Taxonomy, 787, 17–31. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.787.1611
  37. Maggenti, A. (1981) General Nematology. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, 372 pp. [ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-5940-4] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5938-1
  38. Mawson, P.M. (1958) Free-living nematodes. Section 3: Enoploidea from subantarctic stations. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition Reports, Series B, 6 (14), 307–358.
  39. Mokievsky, V., Bezerra, T.N., Decraemer, W., Eisendle, U., Hodda, M., Holovachov, O., Leduc, D., Miljutin, D., Peña-Santiago, R., Sharma, J., Smol, N., Tchesunov, A., Venekey, V., Zhao, Z., Pérez-García, J.A., Půža, V., Zullini, A. & Vanreusel, A. (2024) Guidelines for species descriptions of free-living aquatic nematodes: characters, measurements and their presentation in taxonomic publications. Zootaxa, 5543 (2), 225–236. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5543.2.4
  40. Nicholas W.L. (1993) Two new species of nematode (Nematoda: Enoplida: Thoracostomopsidae) from Lake Alexandrina, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 117 (4), 163–170.
  41. Pearse, A.S. (1942) Introduction to Parasitology 1877–1956. C.C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland, ix + 357 pp., 448 illustrations.
  42. Raski, D.J., Thomason, I.J., Chitamber, J.J. & Ferris, H. (2008) A history of Nematology in California. Department of Nematology, University of California, Davis, California, 125 pp. Available from: https://nemaplex.ucdavis.edu/General/HISTNEMCALIF.htm (accessed 11 November 2025)
  43. Rudolphi, C.A. (1808) Entozoorum, sive Vermium Intesstinalium Historia Naturalis. Vol. 1. Amstelaedami Sumtibus Tabernae Librariae et Artium, Amstelaedami, 527 pp., tab. 6. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.14422
  44. Sergeeva, N.G. (1974) New Free-living Nematodes (Enoplida) from the Black Sea, Report 2 (Novye Vidy Svobodnozhivushchikh Nematod Otriada (Enoplida) iz Chernogo Moria, Soobshchenie 2). Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 53 (1), 120–125.
  45. Southern, R. (1914) Clare Island Survey. Nemathelmia, Kinorhyncha, and Chaetognatha. Proceedings of the the Royal Irish Academy, 31 (Part 54, Section 3), 1–80, pls. I–XII.
  46. Stock, S.P. & Nadler, S.A. (1998) Revised list of type specimens on deposit in the University of California Davis Nematode Collection. Journal of Nematology, 30 (3), 368–390.
  47. Ssaweljev, S. (1912) Zur Kenntnis der freilebenden Nematoden des Kolafjords und des Relictensee Mogilnoje. Travaux de la Société (Impériales) des Naturalistes de Saint-Petersbourg, 42 (2–3), 108–126.
  48. Timm, R.W. (1961) The Marine Nematodes of the Bay of Bengal. Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Science, 1 (1), 25–88.
  49. Vitiello, P. (1971) Nématodes nouveaux des vases terrigènes cotières des côtes provençales. Téthys, 2 (4), 859–875.
  50. Warwick, R.M. (1970) Fourteen new species of free-living marine nematodes from the Exe estuary. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology, 19 (4), 137–177. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.24086
  51. Warwick, R.M. (1973) Freeliving marine nematodes from the Indian Ocean. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Zoology, 25 (3), 85–117.
  52. Wieser, W. (1953) Reports of the Lund University Chile expedition 1948-1949: 1. Enoploidea. Lunds Universitets Årsskrift, Nya Följden, 49 (6), 1–155.
  53. Wieser, W. (1959) Free-living nematodes and other small invertebrates of Puget Sound beaches. University of Washington Publications in Biology. Vol. 19. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washing, 179 pp., 109 figs., 96 pls.

How to Cite

Datta, T.K. (2026) Neotype designation and redescription of Mesacanthion armatum Timm, 1961 (Nematoda, Enoplida) along with an updated taxonomic key to the species of Mesacanthion (Filipjev, 1927) De Coninck & Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1933. Zootaxa, 5787 (2), 313–328. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5787.2.5