Cactodera salina n. sp. from the Estuary Plant, Salicornia bigelovii, in Sonora, Mexico.

Abstract

Cactodera salina n. sp. (Heteroderinae) is described from roots of the estuary plant Salicornia bigelovii (Chenopodiaceae), in Puerto Pefiasco, Sonora, Mexico, at the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez. The halophyte host is grown experimentally for oilseed in plots flooded daily with seawater. Infected plants appear to be adversely affected by C. salina relative to plants in noninfested plots. Cactodera salina extends the morphological limits of the genus. Females and cysts have a very small or absent terminal cone and deep cuticular folds in a zigzag pattern more typical of Heterodera and Globodera than of Cactodera spp. Many Cactodera spp. have a tuberculate egg surface, whereas C. salina shares the character of a smooth egg with C. amaranthi, C. weissi, and C. acnidae. Only C. milleri and C. acnidae have larger cysts than C. salina. Face patterns of males and second-stage juveniles, as viewed with scanning electron microscopy, reveal the full complement of six lip sectors as in other Cactodera spp. Circumfenestrae of C. salina are typical for the genus.