Inventory of the free-living marine nematode specie from el Bibane Lagoon (Tunisia)

Study Extent

El Bibane, the second largest lagoon in Tunisia that offers a wide variety of natural habitats for benthonic populations

Sampling

At each sampling station, meiofauna were collected in four replicates using plexiglas hand-cores (area 10 cm2), preserved in formaldehyde solution buffered sea-water (5% formaldehyde), and stained with Rose Bengal (0.2 g.l-1). In the laboratory, the samples were washed through 1 mm and 40 μm sieves and the fractions retained by the 40 μm sieve were centrifuged with Ludox-HS40. Randomly nematodes from each sample were mounted on permanent slides for taxonomical identification

Method steps

1. Genus level was identified using the pictorial keys of Platt and Warwick (1983, 1988) and Warwick et al. (1998), the NeMys online identification key, and literature therein (Guilini et al., 2017). The list of nematode species reported is according to Hodda (2011) for the taxonomic status and NeMys website for the relative geographical global distribution. The distribution of the Tunisian nematode species is reported according to Boufahja et al. (2014).

Seventy-one nematode species, belonging to 68 genera and 22 families, were found at El Bibane lagoon

1. Chaetonema vicinum Gerlach, 1954
   rank: species
2. Anticoma acuminata (Eberth, 1863)
   rank: species
3. Enoploides longispiculosus Vitiello, 1967
   rank: species
4. Enoplolaimus longicaudatus
   rank: species
5. Halalaimus capitulatus Boucher, 1977
   rank: species
6. Oxystomina clavicauda (Filipjev, 1918)
   rank: species
7. Bathylaimus tenuicaudatus (Allgén, 1933)
   rank: species
8. Eurystomina ornata (Eberth, 1863)
   rank: species
9. Metoncholaimus demani (Zur Strassen, 1894)
   rank: species
10. Oncholaimus campylocercoides De Coninck & Stekhoven, 1933
    rank: species
11. Oncholaimellus mediterraneus Stekhoven, 1942
    rank: species
12. Prooncholaimus megastoma (Eberth, 1863)
    rank: species
13. Viscosia glabra (Bastian, 1865)
    rank: species
14. Chromadora brevipapillata Micoletzky, 1924
    rank: species
15. Chromadorina metulata Aissa & Vitiello, 1977
    rank: species
16. Euchromadora striata (Eberth, 1863)
    rank: species
17. Neochromadora poecilosomoides Filipjev, 1918
    rank: species
18. Parachromadorita stygia (Gerlach, 1952)
    rank: species
19. Prochromadorella neapolitana (de Man, 1876)
    rank: species
20. Ptycholaimellus ponticus (Filipjev, 1922)
    rank: species
21. Cyatholaimus prinzi (Marion, 1870)
    rank: species
22. Longicyatholaimus longicaudatus (de Man, 1876)
    rank: species
23. Marylynnia stekhoveni (Wieser, 1954)
    rank: species
24. Metacyatholaimus cylindribucca (Stekhoven, 1950)
    rank: species
25. Nannolaimoides effilatus (Boucher, 1976)
    rank: species
26. Paralongicyatholaimus mastigodes Stekhoven, 1950
    rank: species
27. Pomponema astrodes Lorenzen, 1972
    rank: species
28. Chromaspirina renaudae Boucher, 1975
    rank: species
29. Croconema longiseta Stekhoven, 1950
    rank: species
30. Metachromadora macroutera Filipjev, 1918
    rank: species
31. Paradesmodora supplementatis Inglis, 1968
    rank: species
32. Spirinia parasitifera (Bastian, 1865)
    rank: species
33. Aponema torosum (Lorenzen, 1973)
    rank: species
34. Microlaimus cyatholaimoides de Man, 1922
    rank: species
35. Draconema claparedii (Mechnikov, 1867)
    rank: species
36. Nudora gerlachi Andrássy, 1973
    rank: species
37. Monoposthia mirabilis Schulz, 1932
    rank: species
38. Halichoanolaimus dolichurus Ssaweljev, 1912
    rank: species
39. Richtersia elongata (Stekhoven, 1950)
    rank: species
40. Synonchiella edax Aissa & Vitiello, 1977
    rank: species
41. Odontophora villoti Luc & De Coninck, 1959
    rank: species
42. Comesoma vulgare Bastian, 1865
    rank: species
43. Dorylaimopsis mediterranea Grimaldi-De Zio, 1968
    rank: species
44. Minolaimus lineatus Vitiello, 1970
    rank: species
45. Paracomesoma dubium (Filipjev, 1918)
    rank: species

El Bibane, the second largest lagoon in Tunisia