Abstract

Millipedes may cause unexpected damage when they are introduced to new locations, becoming invaders that leave behind their old parasites and predators. Therefore, it was interesting to find numerous rhabditid nematodes within the gut of the invasive phytophagous millipede Chamberlinius hualienensis Wang, 1956 (Diplopoda, Paradoxosomatidae) from Hachijojima (Japan) in November, 2014. This millipede originated in Taiwan but was discovered in Japan in 1986. The nematodes were identified as juvenile Oscheius rugaoensis (Zhang et al., 2012) Darsouei et al., 2014 (Rhabditidae), and juvenile and adult Mononchoides sp. (Diplogastridae) based on images, morphometrics, and sequences of 18S and 28S rDNA. A novel short 28S sequence of a separate population of Oscheius necromenus SB218 from Australian millipedes was also included in a phylogenetic comparison of what can now be characterized as a species complex of millipede-associated Oscheius. The only other nematode associates of millipedes belong to Rhigonematomorpha and Oxyuridomorpha, two strictly parasitic superorders of nematodes. These nematode identifications represent new geographic and host associations.