Objective Nematodes play a crucial role in soil ecosystems. Through investigations of the rhizosphere soil of major crops and woody plants across the country, a new record species of nematodes belonging to the superfamily Criconematoidea has been isolated in China. The discovery of this new record species contributes to a better understanding of the species diversity of soil nematodes, providing a theoretical basis for assessing the health of soil ecosystems and improving the ecological environment.

Method Nematodes were isolated using the Baermann funnel method, and were then killed using a gentle heat treatment. After fixation and dehydration, nematodes were randomly selected and prepared into permanent slides. Based on morphological characteristics, measurement data, and combined with phylogenetic tree analysis of 18S rDNA gene sequences, the taxonomic status of the nematodes was determined.

Result In this study, a population of nematodes belonging to the superfamily Criconematoidea was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of mulberry and rapeseed in Xinyang City, Henan Province, China. The body rings of the female nematode were smooth, with two lip annulus whose edges were also smooth, and the first lip annulus protruded. After being gently heat treated, the two ends of the female nematode's body were slightly bent towards the abdomen, with a body length of 340.2 μm. Its style was robust, 62.28 μm long, and there were 12 body rings. The distance from the vulva to the tail accounted for approximately 9 ~ 11 body rings. It had a typical ring-shaped esophagus, and no male nematodes were found. Based on the phylogenetic tree analysis of 18S rDNA gene sequences, it was identified as Criconema permistum.

Conclusion C. permistum is a newly recorded species reported in China for the first time, with mulberry and rape as its host plants.