Revised 12/16/23
Length: Generally long to very long soil nematodes, mostly >4 mm, up to 12 mm; except for Aporcelaimellus spp. which are 1-4 mm long.
Cuticle: thick with a thin outer layer; smmoth or striated; may have criss-cross markings or punctations; numerous small body pores.
Lip region: distinctly set off and lips usually not amalgamated but separated from each other. Oral aperture usually a dorso-ventral slit.
Odontostyle: Length equal or a little longer than width of lip region; aperture 2/3 to 3/4 of its length;: Ranges from axial dorylaimoid in Aporcelaimus with large aperture to a mural nygolaimoid tooth, e.g. in Sectonema, which may be with or without aperture.; guiding sheath simple.
Esophagus: Basal enlarged part has glands with irregular tubules; 5 nuclei. Basal esophagus surrounded by a thin epithelial sheath. Flattened disc-shaped cardia between esophagus and intestine.
Excretory System: Paired lateral lines of pores along length, irregularly spaced.
Female Gonad: Diovarial, amphidelphic. Vulva transverse, inner lips sclerotized or not sclerotized.
Male: Usually as common as females; Strong dorylaimoid spicules. Ventromedian supplements between 1 and 30; ussually spaced but may be contiguous
Tail short, mostly bluntly rounded, similar in both sexes
Predatory on oligochaetes and small nematodes. Some may be plant feeders.
Type species of the family: Dorylaimus superbus de Man, 1880 = Aporcelaimus superbus (de Man, 1880) Goodey, 1951
Sources: Heyns (1965), Andrássy (2001; 2009)
Four subfamilies recognized (Andrassy, 2009b)
Aporcedorinae
Apocelaiminae
Aporcelaimellinae
Sectonematinae
Pena-Santiago and Varela-Benavides (2018) there is some doubt regarding the classification of Aporcelinus under Aporcelaimidae, as originally proposed, because molecular genetic analysis shows a tentative closer (but not highly supported) relationship with Allodorylaimus, a member of the family Qudsianematidae
Heyns, J. 1965. On the morphology and taxonomy of the Aporcelaimidae, a new family of dorylaimoid nematodes. Entomology Memoirs 10: Dept. Agric. and Tech Services, Republic of South Africa.
Andrassy, I. 2001. A taxonomic review of the genera Aporcelaimus Thorne & Swanger, 1936 and Metapoorcelaimus Lordello, 1965 (Nematoda, Aporcelaimidae) Opusc Zool Budapest 33:7-47.
Andrássy, I. 2009. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary III. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. 608p.
Andrassy, I. 2009b. Another species of the genus Aporcelinus Andrássy, 2009 (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) Opusc. Zool. Budapest 40:99-102.
Pena-Santiago, R. and Varela-Benavides, I. 2018. Phylogeny of the genus Aporcelinus Andrássy, 2009 (Nematoda: Dorylaimida: Aporcelaimidae) with description of two new species from Costa Rica. J Zool Syst Evol Res. 57::240-257.
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