Description of a new species of the genus Caveonchus Siddiqi, 1982 (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) with diagnostic compendium and key to its species

Caveonchus siddiqii n. sp. is described and illustrated based on specimens collected from both India and Japan. It is characterized by having a medium sized body (L= 0.86 - 1.12 mm); labial disc present; amphideal fovea flask-shaped; lip region cap-like, offset by slight constriction; odontostyle 8 - 9 μm, odontophore 10 - 12 μm; pharynx with slender anterior part which expands abruptly into the saccate basal bulb, occupying about 16 - 21 % of total neck length; female genital system mono-opisthodelphic; anterior genital branch 70 - 100 μm or 1.9 - 2.8 times the midbody diameter long; tail short, rounded, hemispheroid, 0.5 - 0.7 anal body diameter long; spicules 30 - 38 μm long; and three spaced ventromedian supplements. Its relationship with all the known species of the genus is discussed. A diagnostic compendium and a key to identification of the species is also provided.