An integrative taxonomic study of the needle nematode complex Longidorus goodeyi Hooper, 1961 (Nematoda: Longidoridae) with description of a new species

Needle nematodes are polyphagous root-ectoparasites parasitizing a wide range of economically important plants not only by directly feeding on root cells, but also by transmitting nepoviruses. This study deciphers the diversity of the complex Longidorus goodeyi through integrative diagnosis method, based on a combination of morphological, morphometrical, multivariate analysis and molecular data. A new Longidorus species, Longidorus panderaltum n. sp. is described and illustrated from a population associated with the rhizosphere of asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus L.) in southern Spain. Morphologically, L. panderaltum n. sp. is characterized by having a moderately long female body (5.2-7.0 mm), lip region bluntly rounded and slightly offset by a depression with body contour, amphidial pouch with slightly asymmetrical lobes, odontostyle 80.5–101.0 µm long, tail short and conoid rounded. Longidorus panderaltum n. sp. is quite similar to L. goodeyi and L. onubensis in major morphometrics and morphology. However, differential morphology in the tail shape of first-stage juvenile, phylogeny and haplonet analyses indicate they are three distinct valid species. This study defines those three species as members of L. goodeyi complex group and reveals the taxonomical complexity of the genus Longidorus. This L. goodeyi complex group demonstrated that the biodiversity of Longidorus in this region is still not fully clarified.