Revised 01/12/26
Phylum Nematoda
Class Chromadorea
Subclass Chromadoria
Araeolaimida
Araeolaimoidea
Diplopeltidae Filipjev, 1918
In some texts, Diplopeltidae sensu lato is considered to consist of families Diplopeltidae and Cylindrolaimidae. Some authorities suggest dividing the Diplopeltidae into two subfamilies: Diplopeltinae and Cylindrolaiminae based on the cylindrical buccal cavity of Cylindrolaimus. However, the character also occurs in some of the other genera of the family. Recent texts consider the Diplopeltidae a single family.
Characteristics of the Diplopeltidae:
Cuticle smooth or striated.
Labial sensilla usually papilliform or not visible.
Four obvious cephalic sensilla
Amphids curve to a bowl shape in the form of a spiral with one loop, or cryptospiral.
Ocelli sometimes present.
Buccal cavity narrow and tubular or very small. Tooth-like formation absent.
Esophagus with one ventral and two subdorsal pharyngeal tubes. Terminal bulb sometimes present.
Females diselphic-amphidelphis; ovaries paired (except in Cylindrolaimus monhystera), outstretched
Males usually diorchic.
Precloacal supplements mostly absent.
Tail conical or conico-cylindrical.
All genera except Cylindrolaimus and Edalonema are exclusively marine.
Andrássy, I. 2005. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary, Vol. I. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.
Fonseca, G. and Bezerra, T.N. 2013. Order Araeolaimida De Coninck & Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1933. In Schmidt-Rhaesa (Ed). Handbook of Zoology. De Gruyter. DOI:10.1515/9783110274257.467
Gerlach, S.A. 1950. Die Diplopeltiden, eine gruppe freilebender nematoden. Kieler Meeresforschungen, 7: 138-156
Leduc, D. 2017. Four new nematode species (Araeolaimida: Comesomatidae, Diplopeltidae) from the New Zealand continental slope. Zootaxa 4237 (2): 244-264
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