Scientific report on the Belgian Expedition to the Great Barrier Reef in 1967. Nematodes I: Desmoscolex -species (Nematoda-Desmoscolecida) from Yonge Reef, Lizard Island and Nymphe Island with general characteristics of the genus Desmoscolex

Hundred and thirteen specimens of Desmoscolex, belonging to fourteen species, were found in samples from Yonge Reef, Nymphe Island and Lizard Island (Great Barrier Reef, Australia). Among them D . granulatus n . sp., D . laevis Kreis, 1926 and D . minutus Claparede, 1863 are described. A new name, D. paralaevis n. sp. is proposed for the specimens described as D . laevis by Lorenzen (1971) . The diagnosis of the genus is emended by considering the internal structures such as the oesophagus and oesophago-intestinal junction.