Section of Nematology, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202001, India.
* Present address: Commonwealth Institute or Parasitology, ST. ALBANS, HERTS, ENGLAND.
The variability of morphological characters of Xiphinema americanum was studied in a population of the species from the campus of the Aligarh Muslim University. The studies show that different characters vary to different degrees. In adults, height and width of lip region, length of functional odontostyle and the position of vulva are least variable. The total body length and odontophore, position of guiding ring from anterior extremity, length of rectum and tail show a lesser degree of variability. The lengths of anterior and posterior gonads and ovaries show highest degree of variation. The extent of variability among the juveniles and adults for a particular character is more or less same except for the length of tail which is highly variable in adults.
