First Report of Ektaphelenchoides compsi Baujard, 1984 (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) from Iran

Forty five soil and root samples were collected from different areas of Jiroft and Kahnoj regions in Iran during 2007 and 2008. Our main objective was to identify plant parasitic nematodes present in cucumber that are not reported in Iran before. During the course of our investigation a new nematode species, Ektaphelenchoides compsi, was identified. This nematode was collected from rhizosphere regions of cucumber in soil samples collected from three areas. E. compsi belong to the family Aphelenchoididae and subfamily Ektaphelenchinae. Major characteristics of this genus include rounded, high lips without offset and tail of both sexes are conical with elongated terminus, rectum and anus absent in female. According to our knowledge this is the first report of this nematode species from Iran.