Family Comesomatidae

                                 Revised 04/28/26

Classification:

Phylum Nematoda

  Class Chromadorea

Chromadoria

Chromadorida

            Chromadorina

Comesomatoidea

Comesomatidae Filipjev, 1918

A family of free-living marine nematodes.

• Marine nematodes from bottom sediments in deep ocean, shallow coastal areas and tidal flats.
• Cephalic region with 6 lips and a 6+6+4 sensilla arrangement; labial sensilla are papilliform, the cephalic sensilla setiform and in either three or two rings, the posterior cephalic setae usually longest.
• Cuticle striated or with transverse rows of punctations
• Multispiral amphids, at least 2.5 turns
• Buccal cavity ranging from small and undifferentiated to dilated and sclerotized; with cup-shaped anterior and conical to cylindrical posterior and well developed teeth
• Marginal tubes present within the esophagus.
• Somatic setae along body length in 4 row.
• Male diorchic.testes opposed and outstretched; spicules with apophyses; gubernaculum usually present
•  Tubular precloacal supplements in most species
• Female genitalia didelphic, amphidelphic, ovaries outstretched.
• Non‐sclerotized and enlarged tail tip.

Ref: Jensen, 1979; Barnes et al., 2012; Leduc, 2017

Jensen (1978, 1979) divided the Comesomatidae into three subfamilies on the basis of the the buccal cavity, structure of the copulatory apparatus, and the arrangement of the cephalic sensilla.:

Sabatieriinae Filipjev, 1934:

• Cephalic sense organs in three separate circles, with outer labial sensilla and cephalic setae sometimes close together.

• Buccal cavity weakly cuticularised, anterior portion cup-shaped, sometimes very small; posterior portion narrow, not strongly cuticularised.

• Spicules usually arcuate, usually enlarged proximally. Gubernacular apophyses (when present) usually directed dorsocaudally and paired. (LeDuc, 2017).

 Dorylaimopsinae

• Cuticle with lateral differentiation

• Cephalic sense organs in three separate circles

• Buccal cavity strongly sclerotized; anterior portion shallow, posterior portion dilated, cylindrical or conical with strongly cuticularized.

• Three thorn-like projections between anterior and posterior portions

• Gubernacular apophyses usually directed caudally

 Comesomatinae

• Cuticle with transverse striatons or punctations

• Lateral setae in second crown of setae longer than others in same crown

• Posterior portion of buccal cavity cylindrical, dilated or collapsed with projections at border between two portions.

• Spicules long; gubernaculim tube-like or reduced, apophyses directed dorsally or absent.

    Go To Dictionary of Terminology 

References

Barnes, N., Kim, H.G., Le, W. 2012. New species of free-living marine Sabatieriinae (Nematoda: Monhysterida: Comesomatidae) from around South Korea. Zootaxa 3368:263-290.

Jensen, P., 1978. A review of the Comesomatidae (Free-living marine nematodes). Ann. Soc.R. Zool. Belg. 108: 25-27.

Jensen, P. 1979. Revision of Comesomatidae. Zoologica Scripta https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.1979.tb00621.x

Leduc, D. 2017. Four new nematode species (Araeolaimida: Comesomatidae, Diplopeltidae) from the New Zealand continental slope. Zootaxa 4237 (2): 244-264

Muthumbi, A.W., Soetaert, K., Vincx, M. 1997. Deep-sea nematodes from the Indian Ocean: new and known species of the family Comesomatida. Hydrobilogia 346:25-57.

Riera, R., Nunez, J., Brito, M.C. 2012.  Five new records of comesomatids (Nematoda, Chromadorida) from the Canary Islands.Rev. Acad. Canar. Cienc 24:39-50.

Sharma, J., Sun, L. Hope, W.D., Ferris, V. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships of marine nematode family Comesomatidae. Journal of Nematology, 38:229-232.

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