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Loss of plant diversity has an impact on ecosystems worldwide, but we lack a mechanistic understanding of how this loss may influence below‐ground biota and ecosystem functions across contrasting ecosystems in the long term. We used the longest running biodiversity manipulation experiment across contrasting ecosystems in existence to explore the below‐ground consequences of 19 years of plant functional group removals for each of 30 contrasting forested lake islands in northern Sweden. We found that, against expectations, the effects of plant removals on the communities of key groups of soil organisms (bacteria, fungi and nematodes), and organic matter quality and soil ecosystem functioning (decomposition and microbial activity) were relatively similar among islands that varied greatly in productivity and soil fertility. This highlights that, in contrast to what has been shown for plant productivity, plant biodiversity loss effects on below‐ground functions can be relatively insensitive to environmental context or variation among widely contrasting ecosystems.

In five grasslands and six forests located in the ‘Natura 2000’ protected area Apuseni (Romania) 191 nematode taxa (132 species) were found. Nematode fauna differed according to geographical location of the sampling sites, ecosystems and ‘Natura 2000’ habitat types. Nematode fauna in forests was more diverse than in grasslands. Plant feeders, bacterial feeders and omnivorous nematodes dominated in the samples. General opportunists were more frequent in forests, as opposite to persisters, which were more abundant in grasslands. Maturing and structured conditions of the soil food web were revealed. The differentiation between types of ecosystems and habitats based on prevailing decomposition channel in soil was not possible., Изучение почвенных проб из луговых (n=5) и лесных (n=6) биотопов в Национальном парке Апушени выявило 191 таксон почвообитающих нематод (132 вида). Фауна нематод различалась в зависимости от местоположения точек отбора образцов, типов биоценоза и местобитаний. Выявлено, что почвенная нематодофауна лесных участков более разнообразна по сравнению с лугами. В сообществах нематод доминировали нематоды, ассоциированные с растениями, бактериотрофы и всеядные нематоды. Бактериотрофы со значением 2 по c-p-шкале Бонгерса (оппортунисты) чаще встречались в лесных почвах, тогда как нематоды с высокими (4, 5) c-p-значениями (персисторы) были более многочисленны в пробах из луговых биоценозов. Значения эколого-популяционных индексов, рассчитанных на основе сообществ нематод, свидетельствуют о наличии зрелой и структурированной почвенной трофической сети в исследованных биоценозах Национального парка. Показано, что использование индекса, характеризующего превалирующий путь разложения органического вещества в почвенной экосистеме, не позволяет разграничивать типы экосистем и местообитаний.

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Pungentus marietani Altherr, 1950 Figs 1 I-K, 5 P. alpinus Vinciguerra & Giannetto, 1984: 49, figs 1-3. Diagnosis This species is distinguishable by the length of its body (1.15-1.66 mm), the lip region being offset by a constriction and 11-15 ��m wide, an odontostyle being 22-28 ��m long and 1.9-2.3 times lip region width or 1.5-2.1% of total body length, neck length of 320-337 ��m, a pharyngeal expansion 130-176 ��m long or 39-43% of total neck length, a didelphic-amphidelphic female genital system, a uterus being tripartite and 56-68 ��m long or 1.4-1.6 times the body diameter, V = 42-52, and the female tail being rounded conoid (19-26 ��m, c = 52-74, c��� = 0.7-1.0). Material examined Five females from one location, in various states of preservation. Morphometrics See Table 1. Description Female Moderately slender to slender nematodes of medium size, 1.15-1.56 mm long. Habitus after fixation ventrally curved, especially in the posterior body region, C- or G-shaped. Body cylindrical, tapering towards the anterior end. Cuticle three-layered, especially perceptible at the tail, 1.5-2.5 ��m thick in anterior region, 2.0-2.5 ��m at mid-body and 4.0-5.0 ��m on dorsal side of tail; outer layer with very fine transverse striation, intermediate layer thicker than the outer and inner layers. Lateral chord 5.5-7.0 ��m wide or occupying 12-19% of mid-body diameter, very granular, but lacking any differentiation. Lateral pores comparatively coarse, in two rows at the margins of lateral chord; ventral pores well perceptible along entire body (Fig. 1K), apparently connecting with sub-epidermal gland bodies. Lip region offset by constriction, 2.4-2.5 times as wide as high and ca. one-third (28-35%) of body diameter at neck base. Lips moderately angular and separate; labial and cephalic papillae distinct, but not especially protruding above cephalic contour. Amphid fovea cup-shaped, opening at level of cephalic constriction, occupying 6.5 ��m or about one-half (52%) of lip region diameter. Cheilostome almost cylindrical, its walls distinctly thick and sclerotized at the anterior half; perioral refractive dots or platelets very prominent. Odontostyle 10.0-12.5 times as long as wide, 1.8-2.3 times longer than lip region diameter or 1.5-2.1% of total body length; aperture 3.0-5.0 ��m long or 14-19% of its length. Odontophore rodlike, almost equal (0.9-1.1 times) to odontostyle. Guiding ring double, located at 15-16 ��m or 1.2-1.5 times the lip region diameter from anterior end. Pharynx enlarging gradually; basal expansion 5.7-7.1 times as long as wide and 2.9-3.7 times the corresponding body diameter long, occupying about twofifths (39-43%) of total neck length. Pharyngeal gland nuclei located as follows: DO = 52, DN = 56- 61, S 1 N 1 = 77, S 1 N 2 = 79, S 2 N = 87-90. Nerve ring at 120-128 ��m from anterior end or 38% of total neck length. Cardia rounded conoid, 7-9 x 10-14 ��m. Genital system didelphic-amphidelphic, with both branches well and equally developed, the anterior 169-182, the posterior 144-210 ��m long. Ovaries 43- 162 ��m long; oocytes first in two or more rows, then in one row. Oviduct 82-118 ��m long, or 2.2-2.9 times the body diameter, consisting of a slender portion with prismatic cells and a moderately developed pars dilatata. Oviduct-uterus junction marked by a distinct sphincter. Uterus 56-68 ��m long or 1.4-1.6 times the body diameter, apparently tripartite, i.e., consisting of a proximal section with thick walls and distinct lumen, an intermediate narrowing, and a spheroid pars dilatata uteri. Vagina extending inwards 18-22 ��m or about one-half (44-59%) of body diameter; pars proximalis almost as long as wide, 13-18 x 12-16 ��m, with convergent walls and enveloped by weak circular musculature; pars refringens not very distinct in the females examined, but two pieces might be present; pars distalis 5.5-7.0 ��m long. Vulva a pre-equatorial, short transverse slit, which is preceded by a depression of body surface. Prerectum 2.9- 4.2, rectum 0.9-1.1 anal body diameters long. Tail short and rounded conoid, somewhat more straight ventrally. Caudal pores two pairs, subdorsal, at the anterior half of tail. Male Unknown. Distribution This species was collected from one location in the southern Iberian Peninsula: the province of Granada, Sierra Nevada National Park, near road to Veleta summit (37��7��� N - 3��32��� W), in association with Mediterranean brushwood Retama sphaerocarpa (Linnaeus, 1753) Boissier 1840 as dominant species. Remarks The specimens from the Iberian population of this species are nearly identical to those of the types as described by Altherr (1950a) as well as to the type material of P. alpinus Vinciguerra & Giannetto, 1984, the latter regarded as a junior synonym by Ahmad et al. (2000). Some morphological features, for instance the nature of the cuticle and the female genital system, are more accurately described here. Pungentus marietani is certainly another widely distributed species in Europe, where it has been reported from Germany (Ahmad et al. 2000), Italy (Vinciguerra & Giannetto 1984, as P. alpinus), Poland (Brzeski 1963; Wasilewska 1967; Winiszewska-Slipinska 1987a, b, but see comments below), Switzerland (Altherr 1950a) and the Netherlands (Bongers 1988, as P. alpinus). Besides, Vinciguerra (2006) mentioned its occurrence in Serbia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Canada. The true identity of the specimens studied by Winiszewska-Slipinska (1987a) remains uncertain, because of their larger general size: body 1.5-1.9 mm long (n=27) and odontostyle 28-31 ��m; this material probably belongs to another species., Published as part of Pe��a-Santiago, Reyes, Ciobanu, Marcel & Abolafia, Joaquin, 2013, Characterization of Iberian species of the genus Pungentus Thorne & Swanger, 1936 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Nordiidae), pp. 1-17 in European Journal of Taxonomy 52 on pages 10-12, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2013.52, http://zenodo.org/record/3814424, {"references":["Vinciguerra M. T. & Giannetto L. 1984. Two new species of Pungentus (Dorylaimida, Nematoda) from pasture soils of Alps. Animalia 11: 49 - 54.","Altherr E. 1950 a. De quelques nematodes des garides valaisannes. Extrait du Bulletin de la \" Murithienne \" 67: 90 - 103.","Ahmad W., Sturhan D. & Vinciguerra M. T. 2000. Notes on the identity of Pungentus alpinus Vinciguerra & Giannetto, 1984 (Dorylaimida: Nordiidae). Journal of Nematode Morphology and Systematics 3: 63 - 68.","Brzeski M. 1963. [Nematoden (Nematoda) des Stadtparks in Skierniewice. I. Erdnematoden]. Fragmenta Faunistica 10: 441 - 461. (In Polish)","Winiszewska-Slipinska G. 1987 a. [Species of the genus Pungentus Thorne et Swanger (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) occurring in Poland.] Fragmenta Faunistica 30: 321 - 330. (In Polish)","Bongers T. 1988. De nematoden van Nederland. Koninklijke Nederlandse Natuurhistorische Vereniging, Utrecht.","Vinciguerra M. T. 2006. Chapter 15. Dorylaimida Part II: Superfamily Dorylaimoidea. In: Eyualem A., Andrassy I. & Traunspurger W. (eds) Freshwater Nematodes: Ecology and Taxonomy: 392 - 467. Ed. CAB International, Wallingford (UK)."]}

Pungentus engadinensis (Altherr, 1950) Figs 1 D-H, 3-4 Diagnosis This species is distinguished by its body length of 0.77-1.21 mm, a three-layered cuticle (especially distinct at caudal region), a lip region offset by a constriction and being 8-10 ��m wide, an odontostyle 14-20 ��m long and 1.7-1.9 times the lip region width or 1.5-2.2% of the total body length, a neck 194- 280 ��m long, a pharyngeal expansion 71-115 ��m long or 35-42% of total neck length, a monodelphicopisthodelphic female genital system, with anterior genital branch absent, uterus a simple tube 39-44 ��m long or 1.4-1.8 times the body diameter, V = 41-54, a rounded tail (14-28 ��m, c = 40-63, c��� = 0.8-1.1), spicules 25-28 ��m long and three to five widely spaced, ventromedian supplements that lack hiatus. Material examined More than one hundred females and one male from more than 20 locations, in various states of conservation. Morphometrics See Table 1. Description General features of adults Slender nematodes of small to medium size, 0.77-1.21 mm long. Habitus after fixation curved ventrad, C-shaped in females, G-shaped in male. Body cylindrical, tapering towards the anterior end. Cuticle three-layered, especially distinguishable at caudal region, 1.5-2.5 ��m thick in anterior region and at mid-body and 2.5-4.0 ��m on dorsal side of tail; outer layer with very fine transverse striation. Lateral chord 5.5-6.5 ��m wide or occupying 19-24 % of mid-body diameter, very granular but lacking any differentiation. Ventral body pores perceptible along the entire body. Lip region offset by constriction, 2.4-3.2 times as wide as high and ca. one-third (31-38%) of body diameter at neck base. Under SEM, lips mostly amalgamated and somewhat angular, lacking any distinguishable striation; labial and cephalic papillae very distinct and visibly protruding, the inner labial papillae situated at the top of low but perceptible lobes; perioral area with (apparently) four small elevations (liplets) surrounding the short dorsoventral, slit-like oral opening. Amphid fovea cup-shaped, opening at level of cephalic constriction, occupying 5.0-5.5 ��m or about three-fifths of lip region diameter. Cheilostome almost cylindrical, but a little wider at its posterior half and with its walls distinctly thicker at the anterior half; circum-oral refractive dots very conspicuous. Odontostyle 11-14 times as long as wide, 1.8-1.9 times longer than lip region diameter or 1.5-2.2% of total body length; aperture 2.5-3.0 ��m long or less than one-sixth its length. Odontophore rod-like, but with small thickenings at its base, nearly as long (0.9-1.1 times) as odontostyle. Guiding ring double, located at 10-11 ��m or 1.1-1.3 times the lip region diameter from anterior end. Pharynx enlarging very gradually; basal expansion 5.5-7.4 times as long as wide and 3.1- 3.9 times the corresponding body diameter, occupying about two-fifths (36-41%) of total neck length. Pharyngeal gland nuclei obscure in the specimens examined. Nerve ring at 80-91 ��m from anterior end or 32-38% of total neck length. Cardia rounded conoid, 5.0-6.5 x 7-10 ��m. Female Genital system monodelphic-opisthodelphic: anterior branch absent and posterior one moderately developed, 76-125 ��m long. Ovary 53-110 ��m long, often reaching and surpassing the sphincter level; oocytes first in two or more rows, then in one row. Oviduct 39-63 ��m long, or 1.5-2.4 times the body diameter, consisting of a slender portion with prismatic cells and a moderately developed pars dilatata. Sphincter distinct between oviduct and uterus. Uterus a simple tube-like structure, 39-44 ��m long or 1.4- 1.8 times the body diameter. Uterine egg 82-92 x 21-26 ��m, 2.5-3.5 times as long as the corresponding body diameter. Vagina extending inwards 12-17 ��m or one-half to three-fifths (50-60%) of body diameter; pars proximalis 7-9 x 6-12 ��m, with parallel or distally convergent walls and enveloped by weak circular musculature; pars refringens with two small, rectangular or triangular pieces measuring 1 x 3 ��m and with a combined width of 5-6 ��m; and pars distalis 3-4 ��m long. Vulva a nearly equatorial, about 5 ��m long, transverse slit. Prerectum 2.3-4.1, rectum 0.8-1.2 anal body diameters long. Tail short and rounded, visibly more convex dorsally; the cuticle at its level consisting of a thick inner layer, a distinct intermediate layer and thinner outer layer, occasionally bearing blister-like structures (saccate bodies). Two pairs of causal pores, one subdorsal, another sublateral, at the middle of the tail. Male Very rare, only one specimen found among several dozens of females. Genital system diorchic, with opposite testes. In addition to the ad-cloacal pair, situated at 6.5 ��m from cloacal aperture, there is a series of five widely spaced, 10-20 ��m apart, ventromedian supplements, the most posterior of which is located 9.5 ��m from the ad-cloacal pair, within the range of spicules. Spicules dorylaimoid, about 5.0 times as long as wide and 1.2 times the body diameter. Lateral guiding pieces obscure. Caudal region similar to that of the female. Distribution Pungentus engadinensis is the most widely spread species of its genus in the southern Iberian Peninsula, having been collected from more than 20 locations with many kinds of natural and cultivated systems, whose dominant plant species are holm-oak (Quercus spp.), Mediterranean brushwood (Cistus spp.), pine (Pinus spp.), poplar (Populus nigra Linnaeus, 1753), almond (Prunus amygdalus Batsch, 1801), Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb Linnaeus, 1753), hazel (Corylus avellana Linnaeus, 1753), etc. Remarks The above description of Iberian populations perfectly fits the available information about this species, especially the contributions by Andr��ssy (1962) and Coomans & Geraert (1962), who provided detailed data and illustrations. Nevertheless, some relevant features such as the three-layered nature of the cuticle, the morphology of the lip region and the structure of the female genital system are here described for the first time. Besides, the range of some measurements (body length, tail length, etc.) and morphometrics (vulva position) are in general extended. Pungentus engadinensis is certainly the most common species in this genus, having been reported from eleven countries on three continents, all of them in the Holarctic: Belgium (Coomans & Geraert 1962), Canada (Winiszewska-Slipinska 1987a; Andr��ssy 1991), Hungary (Andr��ssy 1962, 1991, 2009), Iraq (Vinciguerra 2006), Italy (Zullini 1971, 1975), Poland (Brzeski 1963; Winiszewska-Slipinska 1987a, b), Spain (Castillo et al. 1985), Switzerland (Altherr 1950b, 1952, 1953), the Netherlands (Loof & Coomans 1970; Bongers 1988), United Kingdom (Wasilewska 1967) and USA (Vinciguerra 2006)., Published as part of Pe��a-Santiago, Reyes, Ciobanu, Marcel & Abolafia, Joaquin, 2013, Characterization of Iberian species of the genus Pungentus Thorne & Swanger, 1936 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Nordiidae), pp. 1-17 in European Journal of Taxonomy 52 on pages 6-9, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2013.52, http://zenodo.org/record/3814424, {"references":["Andrassy I. 1962. Wiederfund einiger seltener Nematoden-Arten aus der Superfamilia Dorylaimoidea. Nematologische Notizen, 10. Annales Universitatis Scientiarum Budapestinensis, Lorand Eotvos nominatae - Sectio Biologica 5: 3 - 11.","Coomans A. & Geraert E. 1962. Some species of Dorylaimoidea found in Belgium. Nematologica 8: 233 - 241. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1163 / 187529262 X 00495","Winiszewska-Slipinska G. 1987 a. [Species of the genus Pungentus Thorne et Swanger (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) occurring in Poland.] Fragmenta Faunistica 30: 321 - 330. (In Polish)","Andrassy I. 1991. The free-living nematode fauna of the Batorliget Nature Reserves. The Batorliget Nature Reserves - after forty years: 129 - 197.","Andrassy I. 2009. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary. III. Pedozoologica Hungarica nº 5. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary.","Vinciguerra M. T. 2006. Chapter 15. Dorylaimida Part II: Superfamily Dorylaimoidea. In: Eyualem A., Andrassy I. & Traunspurger W. (eds) Freshwater Nematodes: Ecology and Taxonomy: 392 - 467. Ed. CAB International, Wallingford (UK).","Zullini A. 1971. Studio sulle variazioni del popolamento nematologico in un muschio. Estratto dai Rendiconti, Classe di Scienze (B) 105: 89 - 106.","Zullini A. 1975. Nematodi ripicoli del Po. Estratto dai Rendiconti, Classe di Scienze (B) 109: 130 - 142.","Brzeski M. 1963. [Nematoden (Nematoda) des Stadtparks in Skierniewice. I. Erdnematoden]. Fragmenta Faunistica 10: 441 - 461. (In Polish)","Castillo P., Pena-Santiago R. & Jimenez-Millan F. 1985. Modelos de distribucion vertical de las especies de nematodos en un biotopo natural. Boletin del Servicio de Defensa contra Plagas e Inspeccion Fitopatologica 12: 155 - 162.","Altherr E. 1950 b. Les nematodes du Parc National Suisse. Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung des schweizerischen Nationalparks 1: 1 - 46.","Altherr E. 1952. Les nematodes du Parc National Suisse. 2 e partie. Ergebnisse der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung des schweizerischen Nationalparks 3: 315 - 356.","Altherr E. 1953. Nematodes du sol du Jura vaudois et francais (I). Bulletin de la Societe Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 65: 429 - 460.","Loof P. A. A. & Coomans A. 1970. On the development and location of the oesophageal gland nuclei in Dorylaimina. Proceedings of the IX International Nematology Symposium (Warsaw, Poland, 1967): 79 - 161.","Bongers T. 1988. De nematoden van Nederland. Koninklijke Nederlandse Natuurhistorische Vereniging, Utrecht."]}

Pungentus clavatus Ahmad & Jairajpuri, 1979 Figs 1 A-C, 2 Diagnosis This species is distinguished by the length of its body (1.37-1.91 mm), the lip region being offset by a constriction and 13-15 ��m wide, an odontostyle being 30-35 ��m long and 2.3-2.5 times lip region width or 1.7-2.1% of total body length, neck length of 352-437 ��m, a pharyngeal expansion 190-221 ��m long or 50% of total neck length, a monodelphic-opisthodelphic female genital system, with the anterior genital branch reduced to a very short prevulval sac up to 16 ��m long or up to 0.4 times the body diameter, a uterus being a simple tube 101-129 ��m long or 2.3-2.8 times the body diameter, V = 39-47, and the female tail being rounded and somewhat clavate (22-31 ��m, c = 41-75, c��� = 0.7-1.0). Material examined Nine females from two locations, in various states of preservation. Morphometrics See Table 1. Description Female Slender to very slender nematodes of medium size, 1.37-1.83 mm long. Habitus after fixation ventrally curved, especially in posterior body region, G-shaped. Body cylindrical, tapering towards the anterior end. Cuticle two-layered, 2.0-3.0 ��m thick in anterior region, 2.0-3.0 ��m at mid-body and 4.0-6.0 ��m on dorsal side of tail; its outer layer with very fine transverse striation and thinner than inner one. Lateral chord 9-11 ��m wide or occupying 21-28% of mid-body diameter, very granular but lacking any differentiation. Ventral body pores perceptible along the entire body. Lip region offset by constriction, 2.2-2.4 times as wide as high and ca. one-third (30-34%) of body diameter at neck base. Lips moderately angular and separate; labial and cephalic papillae distinct, but not especially protruding above cephalic contour. Amphid fovea cup-shaped, opening at level of cephalic constriction, occupying 6.5-8.0 ��m or one-half to three-fifths of lip region diameter. Cheilostome almost cylindrical, its walls distinctly thick and sclerotised at the anterior half; perioral refractive dots very conspicuous. Odontostyle 14-18 times as long as wide, 2.3-2.5 times longer than lip region diameter or 1.7-2.1% of total body length; aperture 4.0-5.5 ��m long or 12-17% of its length. Odontophore rod-like, almost equal (0.9-1.1 times) to odontostyle. Guiding ring double, located at 20-22 ��m or 1.5-1.6 times the lip region diameter from anterior end. Pharynx enlarging very gradually; basal expansion 9.5-12.1 times as long as wide and 5.3- 5.4 times the corresponding body diameter, occupying one-half (50%) of total neck length. Pharyngeal gland nuclei located as follows: DO = 52-53, DN = 54-55, S 1 N 1 = 73, S 1 N 2 = 74, S 2 N = 83-88. Nerve ring at 144-156 ��m from anterior end or 36-38% of total neck length. Cardia rounded conoid, 10-11 x 10-11 ��m. Genital system monodelphic-opisthodelphic; anterior branch reduced to a short to vestigial, uterine, prevulval sac up to 16 ��m long or up to 0.4 body diameters; posterior branch well developed, 180-305 ��m long. Ovary 44-218 ��m long, often reaching and surpassing the sphincter level; oocytes first in two or more rows, then in one row. Oviduct 77-124 ��m long, or 1.9-2.4 times the body diameter, consisting of a slender portion with prismatic cells and a moderately developed pars dilatata. Sphincter distinct between oviduct and uterus. Uterus a simple tube-like structure, 101-129 ��m long or 2.3-2.8 times the body diameter. Sperm cells absent within the genital tract. Uterine eggs 96-108 x 36-40 ��m. A distinct dorsal cell mass or coelomocyte (see Fig. 2D) is present at level of oviduct or uterus in two of the specimens examined. Vagina extending inwards 20-25 ��m or about one-half (43-54%) of body diameter; pars proximalis almost as long as wide, 13-18 x 12-16 ��m, with convergent walls and enveloped by weak circular musculature; pars refringens with two weakly sclerotized pieces; pars distalis 5.5-7.0 ��m long. Vulva a pre-equatorial, short transverse slit, which is preceded by a depression of body surface. Prerectum 2.5-2.6 anal body diameters long. Rectum 30-31 ��m long, almost equal (0.9-1.0 times) to anal body diameter. Tail short and rounded, more or less clavate. Caudal pores two pairs, one subdorsal, another sublateral, at the middle of tail. Male Unknown. Distribution Pungentus clavatus was collected from two localities: the province of Ja��n (southern Iberian Peninsula), Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park Road to Segura river source (38��17��� N - 2��39��� W), in association with pine forest; and the province of Huesca (northern Iberian Peninsula), road from Somport to Huesca (42��34��� N - 0��32���58������ W), associated to Mediterranean brushwood, with dominant species Buxus sempervirens Linnaeus, 1753, Juniperus oxycedrus Linnaeus, 1753, Rosa canina Linnaeus, 1753, and Rubus sp. Remarks Although new data are provided and the ranges of many morphometric features are extended, the present description agrees very well with the original one. In addition to the type locality in India, P. clavatus has been reported from Italy (Vinciguerra & Giannetto 1987), Poland (Winiszewska-Slipinska 1987a) and Spain (Hern��ndez et al. 1988). Winiszewska-Slipinska (op. cit.) also mentioned its occurrence in Canada. No significant interpopulational variation has been reported in this species. The most relevant and characteristic feature of the species is the clavate shape of its caudal region. Pungentus clavatus might be a widely distributed species in the Holarctic., Published as part of Pe��a-Santiago, Reyes, Ciobanu, Marcel & Abolafia, Joaquin, 2013, Characterization of Iberian species of the genus Pungentus Thorne & Swanger, 1936 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Nordiidae), pp. 1-17 in European Journal of Taxonomy 52 on pages 3-6, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2013.52, http://zenodo.org/record/3814424, {"references":["Coomans A. & Geraert E. 1962. Some species of Dorylaimoidea found in Belgium. Nematologica 8: 233 - 241. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1163 / 187529262 X 00495","Vinciguerra M. T. & Giannetto L. 1987. Nematodi delle faggete italiane. Animalia 14: 5 - 33. Wasilewska L. 1967. Analysis of the occurrence of nematodes in alfalfa crops. I. Species composition of nematodes in two alfalfa crops of different age and penetration of species from soil to plants. Ekologica Polska - Seria A 15: 347 - 371.","Winiszewska-Slipinska G. 1987 a. [Species of the genus Pungentus Thorne et Swanger (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) occurring in Poland.] Fragmenta Faunistica 30: 321 - 330. (In Polish)","Hernandez M. A., Mateo M. D. & Jordana R. 1988. Estudio comparativo entre grupos troficos de los suelos de cinco bosques de Navarra (tres naturales y dos de repoblacion). Actas II Congreso Mundial Vasco de Biologia Ambiental II: 323 - 335."]}

Enchodelus saxifragae Popovici, 1995 (Fig. 4) MATERIAL EXAMINED Six females from Suhardu Mic Mountains, three females from Parâng Mountains, two female paratypes and two male paratypes from Retezat Mountains. MEASUREMENTS NEW OBSERVATIONS ON MALE (BASED ON THE TWO PARATYPES AVAILABLE) Adcloacal pair of supplements situated at 13.5 or 13.0 µ m from cloacal aperture posterior ventromedian supplement at 19.5 or 30 µ m from adcloacal pair, ventromedian supplements 9-24 µ m apart. Spicules rather robust, 5.3 or 4.4 times as long as wide and 1.7 anal body diam. long. Lateral guiding piece also robust, distinctly falcate in posterior half, furcate at tip, 14 or 16.5 µ m long and ca 4.0 or 3.3 times as long as wide. DISTRIBUTION Cliff vegetation, Suhardu Mic Mountain, Hăşmaş Mountains (Eastern Romanian Carpathians); subalpine meadow, Coasta lui Rus, Parâng Mountains (Southern Romanian Carpathians); cliff vegetation on Albele Peak and the Piatra Iorgovanului area, Retezat Mountains (Southern Romanian Carpathians); sites nos 3, 7-9 in Table 1. REMARKS The females examined perfectly fit the original description (Popovici, 1995) as well as the Iberian specimens recently studied by Guerrero et al. (2008). However, some differences have been noted in male features, such as the peculiar morphology of the lateral guiding pieces, a character which might be a relevant diagnostic feature of this species., Published as part of Ciobanu, Marcel, Popovici, Iuliana, Guerrero, Pablo & Santiago, Reyes Peña-, 2010, Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 3. Species with rounded tail and long odontostyle, pp. 609-618 in Nematology 12 (4) on pages 615-617, DOI: 10.1163/138855410X12628646275925, http://zenodo.org/record/8111712, {"references":["POPOVICI, I. (1995). New species of Tubixaba and Enchodelus (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) from Romania. Nematologica 41, 435 - 448.","GUERRERO, P., LIEBANAS, G. & PENA- SANTIAGO, R. (2008). Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Andalucia Oriental, Spain. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 2. Description of three known species with rounded tail and long odontostyle. Nematology 10, 451 - 470."]}

Enchodelus macrodorus (de Man, 1880) Thorne, 1939 (Fig. 3) MATERIAL EXAMINED Five females from Metaliferi Mountains, five females from Bihor Mountains and one female from Trascău Mountains, all in variable but acceptable condition. MEASUREMENTS See Table 3. DISTRIBUTION Hornbeam-beech forest and grassland located at Buceş- Vulcan, Metaliferi Mountains (Western Romanian Carpathians); mountainous grassland, the Seacă Valley, Padiş karst plateau and cliff vegetation at Gheţar- Scărişoara, Bihor Mountains (Western Romanian Carpathians); grassland on a gentle slope at Cheile Turenilor, Trascău Mountains (Western Romanian Carpathians); sites nos 1, 2, 5, 6 and 10 in Table 1. REMARKS The Romanian material fits very well previous descriptions of the type (Guerrero & Peña-Santiago, 2007) and Iberian (Guerrero et al., 2008) populations of this species, in particular concerning its most characteristic features such as its rather anterior vulva and comparatively short (although tripartite) uterus, with poorly developed intermediate region. Nevertheless, some morphometric differences have been noted in agreement with data provided by Popovici (1995) in her earlier report of E. macrodorus in Romania: i ) the three females from hornbeam-beech forest in the Metaliferi Mountains have a longer odontophore (55 vs 43-47 and 42-48 µ m in type and Iberian populations, respectively) and total stylet length (97-100 vs up to 92 µ m); ii ) the four females from Padiş, in the Bihor Mountains, also have a longer odontophore (50-55 µ m) and total stylet length (92.5-100 µ m) and, moreover, their neck region and pharyngeal expansion are longer too (356-390 vs 303-345 and 288-344 µ m in type and Iberian material, respectively; 144-169 vs 111-130 and 113-138 µ m, respectively); and iii ) three of the four females from the other localities have a somewhat longer prerectum (238, 233, 256 vs 166-212, 112-176 and 205-218 µ m) in type, Iberian and the Romanian specimens studied (Trascău Mountains, Bihor Mountains and the grassland from the Metaliferi Mountains, respectively). The differences observed are herein interpreted as intraspecific geographical variation within a widely distributed taxon in the Holartic region. As mentioned above, Popovici (1995) provided measurements of several Romanian populations, but the true identity of part of this material is herein clarified. The populations collected from Retezat Mountains (Albele and Piatra Iorgovanului), as well as those from Gilău, Vlădeasa and the male from Bihor Mountains belong to E. longispiculus (see Ciobanu et al., 2010b)., Published as part of Ciobanu, Marcel, Popovici, Iuliana, Guerrero, Pablo & Santiago, Reyes Peña-, 2010, Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 3. Species with rounded tail and long odontostyle, pp. 609-618 in Nematology 12 (4) on pages 613-615, DOI: 10.1163/138855410X12628646275925, http://zenodo.org/record/8111712, {"references":["DE MAN, J. G. (1880). Die einheimischen, frei in der reinen Erde und im sussen Wasser lebenden Nematoden. Tijdschrift Nederlandsche Dierkundige Vereeniging 5, 1 - 104.","THORNE, G. (1939). A monograph of the nematodes of the superfamily Dorylaimoidea. Capita Zoologica 8, 1 - 261.","GUERRERO, P., LIEBANAS, G. & PENA- SANTIAGO, R. (2008). Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Andalucia Oriental, Spain. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 2. Description of three known species with rounded tail and long odontostyle. Nematology 10, 451 - 470.","POPOVICI, I. (1995). New species of Tubixaba and Enchodelus (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) from Romania. Nematologica 41, 435 - 448.","CIOBANU, M., POPOVICI, I., GUERRERO, P. & PENA- SANTIAGO, R. (2010 b). Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Romania. The genus Enchodelus Thorne, 1939. 2. Species with rounded tail and medium-sized odontostyle. Nematology 12, 381 - 397."]}