A proposal of Bursaphelenchus uncispicularis Zhuo, Li, Li, Yu & Liao, 2007 as a junior synonyms of B. yongensis Gu, Braasch, Burgermeister, Brandstetter & Zhang, 2006

Abstract Bursaphelenchus yongensis was first reported in China, and later found in Japan and Korea. It is characterized by a relatively slim body (a = 42 and 57 for females and males, respectively). The excretory pore is located at level of median bulb, the lateral field has three lines, and a small vulval flap is present. A long post-uterine branch extends 2/3 to 3/4 of the vulva to anus distance. The conoid female tail has a 2–5 µm long mucron in the central position at the terminus. Spicules are small, condylus high and strongly dorsally bent. Subsequently Bursaphelenchus uncispicularis was described from China. Both morphological characters and morphometrics are very similar to B. yongensis, except for the number of lateral lines (4 vs 3) and male caudal papillae (7 vs 4). Re-examination of type material and a Beijing population of B. yongensis determined that B. yongensis has 7 caudal papillae instead of 4 as originally reported. It is possible that the poor condition of the type specimens of B. uncispicularis could have created difficulty in the determination of lateral line number. Unfortunately, type material of B. uncispicularis has been lost. Therefore, there is no evidence that B. uncispicularis exists. It is now established that B. yongensis is present in China, Japan and Korea with a common host species (P. thunbergii) and a common widespread vector (Cryphalus fulvus). Therefore, based on the geographic, ecological, molecular, and morphological data, we propose Bursaphelenchus uncispicularis Zhuo, Li, Li, Yu & Liao, 2007 as a junior synonym of B. yongensis Gu, Braasch, Burgermeister, Brandstetter & Zhang, 2006.