Panagrolaimus rigidus		Contents		Rev 04/02/2024
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Panagrolaimus menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Panagrolaimidae menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

      Chromadorea      Rhabditida                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
         Rhabditia
          Panagrolaimidae

Panagrolaiminae

Panagrolaimus rigidus (Schneider, 1866) Thorne, 1937

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Female body stouter than that of male. Short cylindrical stoma.  Long tapering corpus with no offset metacorpus.  Valve in postcorpus.  Female monovarial, prodelphic, ovary reflexed, offset spermatheca, with postvulval sac.  Ovary reflexed beyond vulva and almost to level of rectum.  Rapidly moving, very active nematodes. From Gadd and Loos (1943): Female L 0.84-1.45 (1.2)mm; width 30-60 mµ, a=21-31.8, b=4.82-7.15, V=52.5-61% (de Man formulae).  Males shorter and more slender.
Tail conical but asymmetrical, shorter on ventral side.
	Male testis reflexed ventrally, spicules curved, gubernaculum present. No caudal alae.
Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

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Distribution:

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Feeding:

Bacterivore.

Steiner and Christie (1939) described the movenment and feeding behavior of P. peruensis. Gadd and Loos (1943) reported similar feeding behavior for Panagrolaimus rigidus.

Moves with constant turning of head from side to side, ingesting bacteria by alternate dilation and closing of esophageal canal and very rapid pumping action and movement of the valves of the terminal bulb of esophagus.

The nematode is observed to move forward and backwards on an agar medium with the tail often folded anteriorly during backward motion.  Steiner and Christie (1939) noted that if and bacteria survive passage through the intestine, the nematode will serve as an effective distribution agent due to the constant motion and activity.

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Biology and Ecology:

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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:

Steiner, G. and Christie, J.R. 1939. Nematodes observed on diseased rhizomes of ginger from Peru. Proceedings Helm. Soc. Washington 6:26-29.

Gadd, C.H. and Loos, C.A. 1943. Observations on the life history of the nematode Panagrolaimus rigidus. Spolia Zeylanica 43:65-69.

Goodey, J.B. 1963. Soil and Freshwater Nematodes.

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: April 02, 2024 .