A NEW SPECIES OF COMEPHORONEMA (NEMATODA: CYSTIDICOLIDAE) FROM THE STOMACH OF THE ABYSSAL HALOSAUR HALOSAUROPSIS MACROCHIR (TELEOSTEI) FROM THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE

A new species of parasitic nematode Comephoronema macrochiri n. sp. (Cystidicolidae), is described from the stomach of the marine deep-sea fish Halosauropsis macrochir (abyssal halosaur) from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). The new species, studied with both light and scanning electron microscopy, is characterized mainly by 6 pairs of preanal papillae, by which it principally differs from members of Ascarophis; the spicules are 297–375 μm and 99–120 μm long and fully developed eggs possess 2 long filaments on 1 pole. Rhabdochona beatriceinsleyae is transferred to Comephoronema as C. beatriceinsleyae (Holloway and Klewer, 1969) n. comb. Comephoronema macrochiri differs from all other congeners mainly in having eggs with filaments on 1 pole only, and from individual species by some additional features such as the number of preanal papillae, the shape of pseudolabial projections, and the body and organ measurements.