A New Species of(Nematoda: Cystidicolidae) Parasitizing(Pisces: Cottidae) from Baja California, Mexico.

Abstract

A new species of nematode,n. sp. (Cystidicolidae), is described from the stomach wall of the woolly sculpin(Cottidae) collected in the rocky intertidal from northwestern Baja California, Mexico. Collected nematodes were studied using both light and scanning electron microscopy. Sequence fragments formolecular markers were obtained from the new nematode species, in order to test its position within the family Cystidicolidae under a phylogenetic context. Main characters distinguishing this new species include the reduced labia and the morphology of the eggs, distances of nerve ring and excretory pore from the anterior end, and left spicule of males. The new species described here is the second for the genusreported as adult in the Southern California Bight, and the first one recorded for the fish genus.