Family:
The
Family is
one of the hierarchical ranks in Linnean taxonomy and classification systems.
In rank level, it is between Genus and Order, but is frequently bracketed
by the intermediate ranks of Subfamily and Superfamily.
The assignment of genera to families
is proposed and defended, based on currently available evidence, by authorities
with expertise in the discipline.
Sometimes, proposed changes in family assignments are not generally accepted, or
they may not have been noticed, with the result that parallel classification
assignments may occur concurrently in the literature.
Family assignments of nematodes evolve with insights provided by new species
descriptions, by authorities with different perspectives regarding the relative
evolutionary and relationship importance of certain characters, and through the
elevation and combination of families and subfamilies
Family names have a Latinized root,
which may be descriptive of a location, habitat, behavior or honorific.
In Nematology, family names end in “idae”,
subfamily names in “inae”, and
superfamily names in “oidea”.
As the discipline of Nematology evolves, the classification of genera into
subfamilies and families will stabilize. However, in the 21st century
we can expect ongoing changes in family assignments and classification systems
with the merger of molecular analyses and systems based on anatomical features
and morphometric data.