Cyartonema		Contents		Rev: 06/02/2026
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Cyartonema Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Cyartonematidae Menu		Feeding		References
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Classification:

Nematoda

Chromadorea

  Chromadoria

  Desmoscolecida

Desmoscolecoidea

                      Cyartonematidae

       Cyartonema  Cobb, 1920

Type species of the genus: Cyartonema flexile  Cobb, 1920

    Synonyms:

Southernia     

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Cuticle finely striated with longitudinally arranged spines or ridges
• Head truncate, not offset, with 4 cephalic setae
• Amphids large, circular
• Stoma minute or absent
• Somatic setae sparse, mainly in head and cervical region.
• Esophagus musciular in anterior, narrowing posteriorly with overlapping esophageal gland
• Pseudocoelomocytes present
• Tail conical, short or elongate, with well-developed caudal glands
• Females didelphic, amphidelphic, ovsries reflexed
• Males diorchic, spicules arched, gubernaculuim with apophysis

Ref: Decraemer and Jensen, 1982; Decraemer and Rho, 2013; Tchesunov, 1989; Wen et al., 2023 

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Distribution:

Marine nematodes; often reported from the sublittoral zone.

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Cyartonema

Free-living marine nematodes

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Decraemer, W. and Jensen, P. 1982. Revision of the subfamily Meyliinae De Coninck, 1965 (Nematoda: Desmoscolecoidea) with a discussion of its systematic position . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society75: 317-325.

Decraemwr, W. and Rho, H.S. 2013. 7.11 Order Desmoscolecida. In Schmidt-Rheas and de Gruyter, W. Handbook of Zoology.Gastrocticha, Cycloneuralia, Gnatifera. Volume 2: Nematoda

Shirayama, Y. and Hope. W.D. 1992. Cephalic tubercles: a new character useful for the taxonomy of Desmoscolecida (Nematoda). Trans. Am. Microscop. Assoc: 111:211-222..

Shirayama, Y. and Hope. W.D. 1992. Cephalic tubercles: a new character useful for the taxonomy of Desmoscolecida (Nematoda). Trans. Am. Microscop. Assoc: 111:211-222.

Tchesunov, A.V. 1989. The genus Cyartonema Cobb, 1920 (Nematoda, Chromadoria): Morphological peculiarity, new diagnosis and descriptions of three species from the White Sea. Zoologichesky Zurnal 68:5-16

Wen, G., Huixin, L., Mengna, W., Chunming, W. 2023. Description of two new species of Nematoda: Litinium macramphida sp. nov. (Oxystominidae) and Cyartonema breviseta sp. nov. (Cyartonematidae) from the Yellow Sea, China. Zootaxa 5339:577-586.

Copyright  1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: June 02, 2026.