Sphaeronema sasseri n. sp. (Tylenchulidae), a Nematode Parasitic on Fraser Fir and Red Spruce

Sphaeronema sasseri n. sp. is described from Fraser fir and red spruce on Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. Females are distinguished from other species in the genus by body shape, occurrence of body annulations, stylet morphology, head shape, and by several morphometric characters. The nematodes occur in colonies surrounding the bases of lateral and feeder roots, and the infected tissues show a general breakdown of the cortex and bark. The roots appear to be severely damaged by high populations of nematodes. This parasite may be important in the etiology of the slow decline of spruce and fir that has occurred in recent years in the southern Appalachian Mountains.