Additional notes on the morphology of Meloidogyne spartinae (Nematoda : Meloidogynidae)

Females, males and second-stage juveniles of Meloidogyne spartinae were exa mined by light and scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of M. spart inae is very typical of the genus for most characters in general. However, as expected, some minor differences occur, particularly in the shape of the head, stylet and tail, and morphometrics of several characters. It is not clear at present how the karyotype of seven chromosomes in M. spartinae is related to the 13-18 chromosomes of other apparently related Meloidogyne sp ecies. The M. spartinae karyotype may represent an ancestral form from whic h the other species have evolved, possibly as polyploid-aneuploids. More st udies are needed to clarify this point. However, M. spartinae is remarkably similar in morphology to other species and is justly placed within the gen us Meloidogyne.