Holotype female: Total body length 993 um; body width 586 um; stylet length 16,4 um; stylet cone length 9,5 um; stylet base to dorsal gland opening 4,9 um; dorsal gland opening to metacorpus center 65,4 um; head end to excretory pore 32,3 um; vulva length 24,1 um; distance vulva to anus 21,3 um; distance vulva to phasmids 22,1 um; distance between phasmids 23,4 um.

Body white, pear-shaped; neck wide at base, short; posterior end without protuberance; excretory pore 15-27 annules from head end. Head with one postlabial transverse stria; stylet cone attenuates rapidly towards tip, often curved dorsally, with most of curve in anterior portion; junction between cone and shaft prominently thickened; stylet knobs large, transversely ovoid, each with a deep median longitudinal groove, anterior faces sloped towards rear, oesophageal lumen lining expands gradually towards rear, usually constricts just anterior to rounded triradiate metacorpus lining; subcuticular punctations around excretory duct not seen.
Perineal patterns hexagonal, dorsal arch low to medium high, sometimes broadly rounded; pattern striae relatively coarse, annulation outside pattern fine, wavy to zig-zag; lateral field areas often bulged out, lateral fields recessed, dorsal and ventral striae meet at an angle; perineum free from striae, bordered laterally and dorsally by a wide, irregular ridge which often forms irregular folds over the indistinct tail terminus and adjacent areas; subcuticular rectal punctations positioned close to rectum.

Males:  Body length (n = 21): 723-1954 (987 + 340) um; body width (n = 17): 22,3 - 32,0 (26,3 + 3,3) um; body width at excretory pore (n = 17): 19,6 - 26,6 (22,8 + 1,9) um;  stylet length (n = 21): 16,9 - 21,4 (18,6 + 1,3) um; stylet base to dorsal gland opening (n = 18): 2,3 - 5,3 (3,5 + 1,0) um; head end to metacorpus centre (n = 16): 44,7 - 90,7 (65,5 + 11,9) um; head end to excretory pore (n = 21): 98,0 - 186,0 (120,8 + 21,2) um; tail length (n = 18): 3,7 - 10,0 (6,6 + 1,7) um; spicule length (n = 10): 26,6 - 34,5 (29,2 + 2,5) um; phasmids to tail end (n = 20): 4,8 - 13,0 (8,9 + 2,2) um.
Allotype male: Body length 1030 um, body width 25,7 um; body width at excretory pore [unreadable*]; stylet length 18,2 um; stylet base to dorsal gland opening 3,7 um; head end to excretory pore 98,0 um; tail length 7,3 um; phasmids to tail end 7,7 um.

Body vermiform, posterior portion twisted; lateral field width 16-31% of body width, lateral lines four, in places a faint fifth median line, outer bands irregularly areolated throughout, inner band sparsely areolated; excretory pore 57-73 annules from head end, 0-3 annules behind hemizonid which extends over 1-2 annules; phasmids opposite or slightly anterior to cloacal opening.
Labial cap slopes smoothly towards rear, narrower than postlabial region which lacks transverse striae; vestibule expands towards basal plate; stylet robust, stylet cone cylindrical for some distance, stylet opening at 24-34% of cone length behind the usually blunt tip, stylet shaft sometimes widened at middle, shaft and knobs as long as cone, knobs transversely ovoid, anterior faces inclined towards rear, each knob deeply grooved longitudinally; triradiate metacorpus lining roundish; testes double, usually reflexed; spicule tips bluntly rounded.

Second-stage juveniles: Body length (n = 30): 383 - 494 (437 + 25,3) um; body width (n = 28): 14,7 - 19,6 (17,2 + 1,3) um; anal body width (n = 22): 10,7 - 13,2 (11,7 + 0,7) um; stylet length (n = 30): 10,3 - 12,4 (11,4 + 0,5) um; stylet base to head end (n = 30): 14,1 - 17,5 (15,8 + 0,7) um; stylet base to dorsal gland opening (n = 26): 1,7 - 3,7 (2,9 + 0,4) um; head end to metacorpus centre (n = 30): 55,4 - 67,1 (60,5 + 2,7) um; head end to excretory pore (n = 29): 75,3 - 95,4 (87,4 + 4,8) um; tail length (n = 24): 45,0 - 63,5 (50,5 + 4,9) um; hyaline tail length (n = 27): 11,4 - 18,8 (14,0 + 1,7) um.

Annulation fine on body, coarse and irregular on tail; lateral fields with four lines each, lines fade opposite hyaline portion of tail, crenations in outer lines in places larger than body annules, areolations not seen; excretory pore distinct, directly behind hemizonid which extends over 3-5 annules; phasmids in anterior one third of tail; stylet cone longer than shaft and knobs, anterior faces of knobs sloped towards rear; rectum greatly swollen, deeply grooved.

Eggs (n = 30): Length 82,0 - 116,0 (99,8 + 8,0) um; width 36,7 - 49,2 (43,7 + 3,3) um.

Diagnosis: A medium-sized Meloidogyne species with the following combination of distinguishing characters: in the female, stylet knobs deeply grooved longitudinally; junction between stylet cone and shaft thickened; oesophageal lumen lining expands gradually towards rear, often constricts before forming the rounded triradiate metacorpus lining; perineal pattern hexagonal, with low to medium high, sometimes broadly rounded dorsal arch; lateral fields recessed, dorsal and ventral striae meet at an angle; perineum bordered by a wide irregular ridge; subcuticular rectal puctations close to rectum; body striae outside perineal pattern fine, wavy to zig-zag; in the male, labial cap slopes smoothly towards rear; postlabial region without striae, vestibule expands towards basal plate; stylet robust, knobs transversely ovoid, deeply grooved longitudinally, phasmids opposite or anterior to cloacal opening; in the second-stage juvenile, rectum swollen, deeply grooved.

Other species with prominent ridges bordering the perineum include M. carolinensis Eisenbeck, 1982, M. pini Eisenbeck, Yang & Hartman, 1985, M. chitwoodi Golden, O'Bannon, Santo & Finley, 1980 and M. hapla Chitwood, 1949. Females of M. querciana Golden, 1979 and males of M. megadora Whitehead, 1968, and both sexes of M. enterolobii Yang & Eisenbeck, 1983 have medially grooved stylet knobs. M. partityla differs from these species in the combination of characters given above.

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DNA Sequences Obtained

Specimen:	Collected:
NM par N	New Mexico
NM par O	New Mexico