Crusorhabditis dunicola		Contents		Rev 09/20/2023
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Crusorhabditis Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Rhabditidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

  Rhabditia

    Rhabditida

      Rhabditoidea

        Rhabditidae  (also as Mesorhabditidae)

Synonyms

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Body 0.60-0.88 mm long,
• Llips separated and more acute toward oral opening,
• Labial sensilla setose and cephalic sensilla papilliform,
• amphid openings oval,
•  stoma tubular (rhabditoid) with glottoid apparatus bearing two long acute teeth per glottis,
• Pharynx with metacorpus swollen, nerve ring surrounding the isthmus, excretory pore at level of the basal bulb
• Basal bulb with ventral valvular apparatus (grinder).

Female:

• Monodelphic-prodelphic without post-vulval uterine sac.
• Vulva very posterior,
• Ovary reflexed almost to uterus
• Rectum 1.2-1.9 times anal body diam. long,
• Tail elongate with short conoid proximally and almost filiform distally
• Phasmids located at level of the anus,

Male:

• Monorchic, testis reflexed
• Bursa peloderan with velum anteriorly open and ten pairs of bursal papillae (GP1-GP2/GP3- GP6+ph+GP7-GP9),
• Spicules 34-43 um long and fused for two-thirds of their length,
• Gubernaculum 19-31 um long.

Ref: Ruiz-Cuenca and Abolafia, 2022

Ventral view of male posterior of Crustorhabditis dunicola.showing anteriorly-open peloderan bursa, bursal papillae, phasmids (indicated by arrows) and fused spicules Adapted from Ruiz-Cuenca and Abolafia, 2022

Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

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Distribution:

Described from  the rhizosphere of xerophile plants (Medicago littoralis Rohde ex Loisel.) in sandy coastal dunes, Riumar beach, Ebro Delta Natural Park, Deltebre, Province of Tarragona, Spain.

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Feeding:

  Bacterivore

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Biology and Ecology:

Although C. dunicola was found in association with a plant rhizosphere, nematodes of this genus are often found associated with seaweed deposits on beaches or associated with semi-terrestrial crabs and amphipods (Ruiz-Cuenca, and Abolafia, 2022). They are assumed to be tolerant of saline conditions..

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Life Cycle:

Ecophysiological Parameters:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: September 20, 2023.

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