taxonID	type	description	language	source
D424A6A768215D2BAEE7A88133C68B48.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The word “ nix ” is Latin for snow. The species epithet “ nixus ”, therefore, is chosen as the worms were collected over freshly fallen snow.	en	Jamal, Qaisar, Riaz, Muhammad, Uddin, Moeen, Schmidt-Rhaesa, Andreas (2025): Gordius nixus sp. nov.: first report of a horsehair worm (Gordiida, Nematomorpha) from snow in Pakistan. Evolutionary Systematics 9 (2): 183-189, DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.9.153102
D424A6A768215D2BAEE7A88133C68B48.taxon	description	Description. Male (n = 11); Length / width (n = 04): 185 mm / 1 mm, 165 mm / 1 mm, 110 mm / 0.9 mm, 183 mm / 0.9 mm; color: yellowish brown to light brown when alive, turned dark brown after preservation in 70 % ethanol. Live specimens carried light creamy white spots on the cuticle, which were in greater density on anterior to mid-body and became scant towards posterior; spots almost lacking in the posterior region. Two creamy lines, prominent in the anterior, extended along the midline of the body dorsally. Anterior tip with white calotte followed by a dark black collar (Fig. 2 D). Posterior end with semi-circular postcloacal crescent, and two blunt lobes (Fig. 2 F; length and width measured in two specimens = 0.6 mm / 0.32 mm, 0.7 mm / 0.3 mm). The lobes had depressions on inner ventro-medial side towards proximal end in scanning electron micrographs (Fig. 3 E, F). Cuticle surface smooth throughout, sometimes with roundish to polygonal imprints (Fig. 3 B). Spines are present in the anterior end (Fig. 3 A, C). They showed greater density at the anterior half of the body and decreased towards posterior. Spines in the cloacal region and over the tail lobes were sparsely distributed and short (Fig. 3 D – F). The cloacal opening could not be observed very well, as it was either covered by dirt (Fig. 3 E) or appeared to be absent (Fig. 3 F). The postcloacal crescent is semicircular and directly at the level where the tail lobes divide (Fig. 3 D – F). Female (n = 13); Length / width (n = 05): (160 mm / 1 mm, 175 mm / 1.1 mm and 255 mm / 1 mm, 210 mm / 1 mm, 187 mm / 1.1 mm); Color: yellowish brown to brown in life (Fig. 2 E) and turned dark brown in 70 % ethanol. Like males, living females also carried light creamy white spots on the cuticles that were dense on anterior till mid body but became scarce towards posterior. These spots are almost always lacking in the posterior end. Two creamy lines, prominent in anterior region, were running along the dorsal midline of the body. The anterior tip had a white calotte followed by a dark black collar. The anterior region had a dense covering of fine bristles visible in glycerin mounted 10 % KOH cleared specimen (Fig. 2 C) and scanning electron micrograpy (Fig. 4 B – E). Spines become much less abundant and shorter in the middle and posterior body region. The cuticular surface is smooth, as in males (Fig. 4 A). Posterior end round, bearing a vase-like cloacal opening at the tip (Fig. 4 B). Some females had a sperm drop on their posterior end (Fig. 2 E).	en	Jamal, Qaisar, Riaz, Muhammad, Uddin, Moeen, Schmidt-Rhaesa, Andreas (2025): Gordius nixus sp. nov.: first report of a horsehair worm (Gordiida, Nematomorpha) from snow in Pakistan. Evolutionary Systematics 9 (2): 183-189, DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.9.153102
