Bealius		Contents		Rev: 05/02/2026
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Bealius Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Paurodontidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

Chromadoria

Rhabditida

Hexatylina

 Tylenchoidea

Paurodontidae

       Bealius Massey & Hinds, 1970

Type species of the genus: Bealius bisulcus Massey & Hinds, 1970

    Synonyms:

Stictylus Thorne, 1941 

Prothallonema Christie, 1938

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Morphology and Anatomy:

General Characteristics of the genus:

• Cephalic region being broadly rounded, and with six equal-sized lip sectors
• Stylet moderately robust with asymmetrical flange-like knobs, the subventral knobs being much larger than the dorsal
• Esophagus basal bulb with a short stem-like extension opening into intestine dorsally,
• Vulval anterior lip thick, sclerotized, and extending over vulva,
• Spicules bifid at tip,
• Lateral fields absent, although recently described as present for B. pinus and B. clavicaudatus (Esmaeili et al., 2019; Mwamula et al., 2026)

Ref: Siddiqi, 2000; Esmaeili et al., 2019; Mwamula et al., 2026)

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Distribution:

Frequently described from insect-infested tree bark.

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Bealius

Free-living and insect-parasitic forms. Free-living generations probably feeding on fungi.

Like many Hexatylina, the biology is not well known.  There are entomoparasitic generations (parasites of insects and mites) and perhaps free-living mycophagous generations.

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

Species in this genus have  Considered to have free-living and entomoparasitic atAGES

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Christie, J.R. 1938. Two nematodes associated with decaying citrus fruit. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 5:29-33.

Esmaeili, M., Heydari, R., Golhasan, B. & Ye, W. 2019. Molecular phylogenetic study of Bealius Massey & Hinds, 1970 (Nematoda: Hexatylina: Sphaerulariidae), with description of B. pinus n. sp. from Iran. Nematology 21:435-444. DOI: 10.1163/15685411-00003224

Massey, C.L. and Hinds, T.E. 1970. Nematodes from aspen cankers in Colorado and New Mexico. Canadian Journal of Zoology 48:97-108. DOI: 10.1139/z70-012

Mwamula, A.O., Bae, C-h., Kim, Y.S., Lee, Y-D., Lee, D.W. 2026. Bealius clavicaudatus n. sp. (Rhabditida, Paurodontidae), a new sphaerularioid nematode from South Korea. Nematology 28:229-242.

Thorne, G. 1941. Some nematodes of the family Tylenchidae which do not possess a valvular median bulb. The Great Basin Naturaist 2:37-85.

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: May 02, 2026.