Huffmanela lata n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhinidae) off New Caledonia

Huffmanela lata n. sp. is described from eggs only, which were found in a small black spot on the skin near the gill opening of a shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, caught off Nouméa, New Caledonia, South-West Pacific. The eggs are 77–88 (mean 84) μm in length and 52–63 (mean 57) μm in width, with a thick (6–8 μm) shell, apparently spinose. Mobile larvae, 200–250 μm in length, were visible in the eggs. The species is distinguished from other members of the genus by the dimensions and shape of its eggs, which are the broadest ever reported. This is the second species of Huffmanela described from a shark, after H. carcharhini (MacCallum, 1925), to which it appears closely related in terms of its site in the skin and the nature of the egg surface.