Pratylenchus Species Key

[Click on to see Picture Comparisons of characters]

1. Lip region composed of two annules 
.....................................2
1. Lip region composed of three annules 
...................................21
1. Lip region composed of four annules
...................................56
2. Tail terminus crenate 
  ....................................3
2. Tail terminus smooth   ....................................7
3. Males common; spermatheca filled with sperm 

.....................................4
3. Males rare; spermatheca empty 
.....................................6
4. Stylet 12 -13 mm long; vulva at 80% (76 - 85); tail with 16 - 18 annules 
P. similis 
Khan & Singh, 1975
4. Stylet 14 -17 mm long; vulva at 73% (70 - 77); tail with 18 - 39 annules
.....................................5
5. Tail with 18 - 24 annules; tail terminus bluntly rounded (occasionally smooth around tip); posterior uterine branch short, about one vulval body width long without a rudimentary ovary 
P. flakkensis Seinhorst, 1968
5. Tail with 24 - 39 annules; tail terminus truncate or broadly rounded with shallow notch as the top or rarely bifurcate; posterior uterine branch long, more than two vulval body widths long with a rudimentary ovary
P. gibbicaudatus Minagawa, 1982
6. Lateral field with four lines ; stylet knobs flattened, rounded; vulva at 66 - 72% 

P. impar 
Kahn & Singh, 1975
6. Lateral field with six lines ; stylet knobs slightly pointed and directed forward; vulva at 79 - 86%
P. estoniensis 
Ryss, 1982