Morphological and molecular characterization of Gordionus alpestris (Nematomorpha) from the North-West Caucasus, Russia

During the survey of Pachyiulus krivolutskyi Golovatch, 1977 (Diplopoda) near Nickel’ in Adygei Republic (Russia) in the summer 2009 the infestation of these millipeds with nematomorphs of the species Gordionus alpestris was revealed. The morphology of naturally emerging nematomorphs was studied in SEM. The partial sequences of 18S (883 bp) and 28S (393 bp) rDNA PCR-products were obtained and analyzed. An unexpectedly high level of differences between Gordionus alpestris found in diplopods of North-West Caucasus and other molecularly studied representatives of the family Chordodidae was observed.