Rev: 03/01/2026
Synonyms:
photomicrographs by Howard Ferris and Sam Woo, UC Davis
Cuticle smooth or finely striated, usually with scattered setae.
Body length 0.8-1.4 mm.
Head with 4, 6 or 8 cephalic setae.
Stoma broad and shallow, opening into funnel shaped beginning of esophagus lumen. Stoma without teeth or denticles.
Amphids circular, within 1 head width of anterior.
Ocelli may be opresent in aquatic forms.
Esophagus cylindrical. Terminal bulb may be present or absent.
Esophago-intestinal valve spheroid.
Ovary single, outstretched. Vulva usually betwee 55 and 75% of body length.
Caudal glands in tail with duct to short spinneret at tail tip.
Testis single, outstretched.
Spicules paired, long and slender, 2.5-7 times abd.
Gubernaculum present, often with posterior process.
Marine, freshwater and soil forms.
Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Monhystera
Feed on bacteria and possibly substrate ingestion in which the substrate includes bacteria, protozoa, algae, etc. (Yeates et al., 1993).
Monhystera sp. observed to feed and establish colonies on bacteria (Wood, 1973).
Monhystera disjuncta in estuarine environments feeding mainly on bacteria but also on protozoa and algae. In the same environments, Monhystera parva feeding on diatoms, algae and ,to a lesser extent, bacteria (Moens and Vincx, 1997; Bouman et al., 1984).
Free-living, predominantly freshwater, species.
Andrássy, I. 2005. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary, Vol. I. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.
Bouman. L.A., Romeyn, K., Kremer, D.R., Van Es, F.B. 1984. Occurrence and feeding biology of some nematodes species in estuarine aufwuchscommunities. Cahiers Biol. Marine 25:287-303
Goodey, T. (rev. J.B. Goodey). 1963. Soil and Freshwater Nematodes. John Wiley, NY. 544p.
Moens, Y. and Vincx, M. 1997. Observations on the feeding ecology of estuarine nematodes. Journal of the Marine Biology Assoc. U.K. 77:211-227.
Yeates, G.W., T. Bongers, R. G. M. De Goede, D. W. Freckman, and S. S. Georgieva. 1993. Feeding habits in soil nematode families and genera—An outline for soil ecologists. Journal of Nematology 25:315-331
Wood, F.H. 1973. Nematode feeding relationships: Feeding relationships of soil-dwelling nematodes. Soil Riol. Biochem. 5: 593-601.