A new aphelench nematode, Basilaphelenchus brevistylus n. sp. (Aphelenchoididae: Tylaphelenchinae) from Pinus massoniana in China

n. sp. was isolated from masson pine ( ) in Guangdong province, China. The new species is characterized by an offset lip region, short stylet (female stylet 4.5-5.5 μm and male stylet 4-5 μm long) with three elongate posteriorly directed knobs, posteriorly located metacorpal valve and lateral field composed of three lines. The female has an elongate postuterine sac and a short conical tail, uniformly narrowing toward a sharp tip, or tapering to a slightly offset mucronate tip in a few individuals. The male has a conical tail with a sharp terminal mucro, three pairs of caudal papillae, and small arcuate spicules with a bluntly rounded condylus and small pointed rostrum. n. sp. can be distinguished from all described nematodes by numerous morphological and morphometrical traits, especially the tail morphology of both sexes and stylet length. In addition, molecular phylogenetic trees inferred from rRNA small subunit and D2-D3 expansion domains of large subunit revealed that this nematode belongs to the , and is clearly different from all the other species.