Amphibian Fauna of Manipur, North East India

Manipur is one of the eight states of North-Eastern India, situated at the confluence and conjunction of two biodiversity hotspots- the Himalayan and Indo- Burma hot spots. It lies between 23°80′ N to 25°70′ N latitudes and 93°50′ E to 94°80′ E longitude, bounded by Nagaland in the North, Assam in the East, Mizoram in the south, and Myanmar in the east and southeast. Manipur has a rich diversity of culture and tradition also. The state has varied physiographic zones harboring rich and diversified amphibian fauna. We discuss the twenty-seven species of amphibian fauna reported from the region and conservation strategies and their importance in the chapter

Morphological Characterization of Mesocriconema mamitensis N. Sp. and A Known Species, Mesocriconema medani (Phukan & Sanwal, 1981) Loof & De Grisse, 1989, From Mamit District, Mizoram

Nematological investigation of the order Tylenchida, super-family Criconematoidea and sub-family Macroposthoniinae revealed the presence of two species of the genus Mesocriconema i.e., Mesocriconema mamitensis n. sp. and M. medani, in the rhizospheres of lemongrass and pineapple, respectively, from Mamit district of Mizoram, India. Mesocriconema mamitensis n. sp. is characterized by body length = 0.34-0.45 mm, stylet length = 37.6-49.6 µm, R = 117-120, RV = 7-9, Rvan = 1-2, Ran = 5-7, Roes = 24-32, V = 91.6-93.2 µm, and VL/VB = 0.91-1.27 µm. Mesocriconema medani is characterized by body length = 0.37-0.47 mm, stylet length = 40.6-46.1 µm, R = 117-118, RV = 7-9, Rvan = 1-2, Ran = 5-7, Roes = 26-29, V = 90.4-91.6 µm, and VL/VB = 1.2-1.3 µm. The morphological characterizations of the two species have been done through light and scanning electron microscopy studies. Morphometrics, line illustrations, and information about their hosts and locality are also provided. In addition to the new species description, this study reports M. medani for the first time in Mizoram, India

Two New Aphelenchoides Fischer 1894 (Nematoda: Tylenchina) From Manipur, North East India

Two new species of Aphelenchoides discovered from different localities of Manipur, North East India had been described in the present study. Aphelenchoides longistylus sp. nov. has a long stylet and four lateral lines which are gradually merged into two at the tail region. Aphelenchoides neominoris sp. nov. has a small body and short tail with a stylet length of 8.6 µm

New taxonomic information of Cryphodera kalesari (Nematoda : Heteroderidae)

A population consisting of only second-stage juveniles of Cryphodera kalesari (Nematoda: Heteroderidae) was detected in the rhizosphere of bamboo in a forest in Mizoram state of India. New taxonomical information is provided for the juveniles, including the first light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. The juveniles are characterised by a body length of 0.3-0.4 mm, lateral field with three longitudinal incisures forming two areolated bands, a well-sclerotised and offset lip region with three lip annuli, a robust and strong stylet measuring 25-28 mu m in length, anteriorly flat to slightly concave knobs, a secretory-excretory pore often at isthmus level, a conoid tail 47-52 mu m long tapering to a narrow rounded terminus, a pore-like phasmid, and a distinct hyaline portion of the tail occupying roughly half of the tail length. The first molecular data of C. kalesari (sequences of 18S and D2-D3 of 28S rRNA genes and COI gene of mtDNA) were found to be almost identical to that of an unidentified Cryphodera sp. reported from Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, indicating that C. kalesari is widespread across south-east Asia