Abstract: | Principal components and hierarchical cluster analysis based on morphometric characters of the type populations of the 39 species attributed to the Xiphinema americanum-group confirmed the occurrence of five subgroups. The use of a single character is generally insufficient to characterize a species because of the wide intra-population and intra-specific variations. Hierarchical cluster analysis, although impractical for species/population identification, appears useful in the study of the relationships between species or groups of species. |