The most prevalent dagger nematode recovered from rhizospheric soil samples of forest trees in the Afrātakhteh region of Golestan province (Iran) was
Xiphinema afratakhtehnsis
sp. nov. and it is described and illustrated with integrative approaches using both morphological and molecular criteria. It belongs to the morphospecies group 6 of the intragenic historical grouping of
Xiphinema
non-
americanum
species. The new species is characterized by females with 3.3–4.9 mm sized body, lip region separated from the rest of body by a depression, anteriorly expanded, 16–18 μm wide, vulva located at 47.2–58.5%, odontostyle 155–173 μm and odontophore 89–107 μm long, female genital system composed of two equally developed branches, the tubular part of each having spines, short symmetrically rounded female tail to symmetrically rounded with a small mucro-like projection at the end in a few females, rare males (n = 1 out of 74 females) with 83 μm long dorylaimoid spicules and four juvenile developmental stages. The third-stage juveniles (J3) have a characteristic tail shape (short, symmetrically conical with a club-shaped long mucro) demarcating the species, and being typologically useful for its separation from closely similar species (except
X
.
cohni
, with currently no data on its juvenile stages)
viz
.
X
.
adenohystherum
,
X
.
iranicum
,
X
.
mazandaranense
,
X
.
nuragicum
,
X
.
pyrenaicum
,
X
.
robbinsi
,
X
.
sphaerocephalum
and
X
.
zagrosense
. Molecular phylogenetic studies using genomic (partial large subunit and internal transcribed spacer 1 ribosomal RNA genes: D2-D3 and ITS1 rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (
COI
mtDNA) revealed the new species forming a unique lineage in all reconstructed trees using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. The sequenced isolates of the new species formed a monophyletic group in the D2-D3 tree. The sequenced isolates of the new species for their
COI
mtDNA formed four subclades in
COI
mtDNA phylogeny, and four haplotypes in corresponding analysis.