Diplolaimelloides woaabi

  

Contents

  

Rev: 01/19/2026

  Classification Biology and Ecology
Morphology and Anatomy Life Cycle
Return to Diplolaimelloides Menu Economic Importance Ecosystem Functions and Services
Distribution Management
Return to Monhysteridae Menu Feeding  References
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Classification:

Chromadorea
  Chromadoria
   Monhysterida
Monhysterina
Monhysteroidea
                 Monhysteridae
Diplolaimellinae (or ?Monhysterinae)
       Diplolaimelloides woaabi Jung, Murray, Marcue, Powers, Farrer, Borgmeier, Adams, Wang, Fonseca & Werner, 2025.

    Synonyms:

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Members of the subfamily Diplolaimellinae of the Monhysteridae are characterized by a double buccal cavity at some point during their juvenile or adult stages, while those in the other subfamily, the Monhysterinae, have a single tapered buccal cavity. (Presumably, the "diplolaim" component os the genus name refers to a double "throat" (=buccal cavity?)) (Jacobs, 1987; Fonseca and Decraemer, 2008).   In the description of D. woaabi, Jung et al (2025) refer to a bipartite buccal cavity, which would be consistent with the assignment of this species of Diplolaimelloides to the subfamily Diplolaimellinae. However, Jung et al (2025) assign D. woaabi to  the subfamily Monhysterinae. Perhaps that assignement is based on molecular analysis.  Confounding this issue is that Jacobs (1987) recognized the presence of peri-oral plates and fused lips as a character of the tribe Monhysterini of the subfamily Monhysterinae. So, what do you do with a species that has charcteristics of the tribe Monhysterini of the subfamily Monhysteridae  but the double buccal cavity of the subfamily Diplolaimellinae?

Diplolaimelloides woaabi  is characterized by:

 

Females:

  •  Gonad prodelphic, elongated  on the right side of the intestine
  • Vulva at mid-body
  • Tail tapered gredually
       

Ref: Jung et al., 2025

Males:  

  • Not common, about 1 % of population
  • Caudal bursa present
  • Ggubernaculum without dorsal apophysis
  • Spicules long
  • Tail narrows abruptly to filiform

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

 
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Distribution:

Species described from hypersaline bays in the south arm of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, USA. The nematodes are abundant in microbialites, lithified mounds constructed by bacteria.

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Economic Importance:

 

 

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Feeding:

Microbial feeding by ingesting abundant bacteria in the microbialite habitat.

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Biology and Ecology:

The microbialite habitat of these nematodes is in a bay of the Great Salt Lake located at about 1300 m above sea level and with a mean water salinity of 115 ppt.

The unique habitat of D. woaabi suggests both physiological and ecological adaptation. One potential benefit of such an extreme environment is the avoidance of predators or competition (dos Santos and Moens, 2011).  Jung et al (2025) note that in another location, where a freswhater river flows into the GSL. there is a complec ommunity of nematodesConsistent with this idea, we previously observed a complex community of nematodes in a freshwater river that flows into GSL. However, the biodiversity transitions abruptly to a single family as the river empties into the hypersaline portion of the lake (Jung et al., 2024). However, we note tha

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Life Cycle:

 

 

Ecophysiological Parameters:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this species, click If species level data are not available, click for genus level parameters
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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

 
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References:

dos Santos, G. A. P., and Moens, T. 2011. Populations of two prey nematodes and their interaction are controlled by a predatory nematode. Marine Ecology Progress Series 427:117�131. doi: 10.3354/meps08991

Fonseca, G. and Decraemer, W. 2008. State of the art of the free-living marine Monhysteridae (Nematoda). J. Marine Biol. Assoc of UK 88:1371-1390

Jacobs L.J. 1987. A checklist of the Monhysteridae (Nematoda, Monhysterida). Johannesburg, South Africa: Rand Afrikaans University.

Jung, J., Murray, T,R., Marcus,M.C.,  Powers,T.,  Farrar, S.  et al. 2025. Diplolaimelloides woaabi sp. n. (Nematoda: Monhysteridae): A Novel Species of Free-Living Nematode from the Great Salt Lake, Utah. J. Nematology 57: DOI: 10.2478/jofnem-2025-0048

Jung, J., Loschko, T., Reich, S., Rassoul-Agha, M., and Werner, M. S. 2024. Newly identified nematodes from the Great Salt Lake are associated with microbialites and specially adapted to hypersaline conditions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291:20232653. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023 .2653

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