Metaxonchium toroense n. sp. (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Belondiridae) from Costa Rica, with the first molecular study of a representative of the genus

The new species Metaxonchium toroense n. sp. from natural habitats of Costa Rica is described, including light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular (D2-D3 28S rDNA) analyses. The new species is characterized by its general size, the dimensions and appearance of its lip region, the length of the odontostyle and its fusiform aspect, the length of the neck and its pharyngeal expansion, the reduction of the anterior genital branch to a very short uterine sac without any rudiment of ovary or oviduct, tripartite and non-echinophor posterior uterus, the somewhat posterior vulva position, the length and shape of the caudal region, and the absence of males. Molecular analyses, the first to be performed on a Metaxonchium species, show a close relationship of the new species with representatives of the genera Axonchoides and Syncheilaxonchium.