Revised
01/13/26
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Characterized by the presence
of specialized locomotory structures, such as cephalic adhesion tubes in the
head region and sublateral
and subventral posterior adhesion tubes in the
posterior body region (Allen and Noffsinger, 1978;
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They inhabit various marine
habitats throughout the world, including shallow intertidal sandy beaches,
deep-sea hydrothermal vents, the surface of sea grasses,
and in coralline habitats.
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Decraemer et al. (1997) revised
the family Draconematidae into two subfamilies: the Draconematinae Filipjev,
1918 and the Prochaetosomatinae Allen & Noffsinger, 1978.
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Body short, S-shaped, usually with more or less enlarged pharyngeal and
mid-body region.
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Cuticle annulated except for head capsule and tail terminus, Annules
sometimes with spines, minute vacuoles, or a longitudinal lateral field in
mid-body region or tail region.
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Cephalic sensillae in three circles: six inner labial papillae, six outer
labial setae, and four cephalic setae.
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Rostrum present except in Dinetia Decraemer
& Gourbault, 1997.
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Amphideal fovea spiral to loop-shaped, rarely reduced or an internal
longitudinal bar.
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Cephalic adhesion tubes present, located dorsally on cephalic capsule.
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Somatic setae arranged in eight longitudinal rows.
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Buccal cavity small to well developed, usually with a dorsal tooth, with or
without subventral teeth.
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Pharynx cylindrical, dumbbell-shaped, or with posterior bulb.
Secretory–excretory system absent.
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At least the anterior-most posterior adhesion tubes arranged in four
longitudinal rows, two subventrally and two ventrosublaterally, located on
posterior third of body. Posterior adhesion tubes with or without
differentiated tip, usually straight, rarely long and flexible.
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Male copulatory
apparatus with two spicules and trough-shaped gubernaculum.
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Three caudal glands extending beyond anus or cloaca.
Allen MW, Noffsinger EM (1978) A revision of the marine nematodes of the
superfamily Draconematoidea Filipjev, 1918 (Nematoda: Draconematina). Univ Calif
Publs Zool 109: 1–133
Decraemer W, Gourbault N, Backeljau T (1997) Marine nematodes of the family
Draconematidae (Nemata): a synopsis with phylogenetic relationships.
Hydrobiologia 357: 185–202.
Rho, H.S., W. Decraemer, M.V. Sørensen, W.G. Min, J. Jung and W. Kim. 2011.
Megadraconema cornutum, a New Genus and Species from Korea, with a Discussion
of Its Classification and Relationships within the Family Draconematidae
(Nematoda, Desmodorida) Based on Morphological and Molecular Characters.
Zoological Science, 28:68-84.