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Abstract

Pristionchus bucculentus n. sp. was isolated from a shining mushroom beetle, Episcapha gorhami, associated with white rot on a decaying log in Hokkaido, Japan. The new species is distinguished by its stomatal morphology, which includes three regularly shaped, conical left subventral denticles and a vacuolated cheilostom with weak internal sclerotization. Also distinguishing P. bucculentus n. sp. are male sexual characters, including arrangement of genital papillae, a rounded and ventrally skewed manubrium, and a gubernaculum with a large, deep posterior curvature and a short, shallow anterior curvature. Morphological and molecular evidence support the new species as being close to P. elegans, which was previously the most basal known species of the genus. Comparative morphology of basal Pristionchus species is supported by a molecular phylogeny inferred from a partial small subunit ribosomal rRNA gene and 25 ribosomal protein-coding genes. Description of P. bucculentus n. sp. provides a new point of comparison for reconstructing the evolution of stomatal characters in the comparative model system of Pristionchus.