Vol. 78 2026

ARTICLES

Occurrence of Aphelenchoides bicaudatus in a Mangrove Ecosystem on the East Coast of India, with the Description
of the Extremely Rare Male

Sujit Das1, Victor Phani2, Sudipta K. Ghorai1,*

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1Coastal Environmental Studies Research Centre, Egra SSB College, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India; sudipta@egrassbcollege.ac.in
2Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Dakshin Dinajpur, West Bengal, India
*Orcid IDs: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3478-363 (SKG)
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1920-6788 (SD); https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3665-5204 (VP);

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb78.3.003134

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Abstract

Morphological examination combined with phylogenetic analyses identified the studied Aphelenchoides population as A. bicaudatus, representing the first record of this species from mangrove roots of Excoecaria agallocha in India. The species can be readily distinguished from other “Group 2” Aphelenchoides spp. by the presence of a distinctly bifurcate tail terminus, comparatively smaller body length (564.6±31.9 µm), short stylet with weakly developed basal knob, differences in length of the post-uterine sac (PUS), and the number of lateral females. Molecular characterization based on partial sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequence and D2–D3 expansion segment of the large subunit 28S rDNA further corroborated the morphological identification of the population as A. bicaudatus. The present study reveals a host association between A. bicaudatus and mangrove vegetation, unreported to date, suggesting that this species is capable of inhabiting mangrove-associated hosts.

Key words

D2-D3; ITS; Mangrove; Morphology; Nematodes; Phylogeny

How to Cite
Das S., Phani V., Ghorai S. K. 2026. Occurrence of Aphelenchoides bicaudatus in a Mangrove Ecosystem on the East Coast of India, with the Description of the Extremely Rare Male. Acta zoologica bulgarica 78.

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