Plectus		Contents		Rev: 06/20/2023
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Plectus Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Plectidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea

  Chromadoria

       Plectida

Plectoidea

            Plectidae

       Plectus Bastian, 1865

Type species of the genus: Plectus parietinus Bastian, 1865

    Synonyms:
     

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Cuticle striated
• Lateral fields distinct 
• Somatic setae present on whole body, especiially on tail
• Cephalic setae: 4, moderatly long
• Amphid apertures unispiral or circular
• Buccal cavity short and wide in anterior, long and narrower posteriorly
• Esophagus muscular, terminal bulb with valvular apparatus abd tongue-like extension
• Renette cell anterior to teminal bulb of esophagus with long  coiloed or twisted excretrory duct
• Tail elongate conoid, usually curved ventrally, with caudal glands and spinneret

Females:

• Didelphic-amphidelphis

Males:

• Uncommon

Ref: Andrassy, 2005

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Distribution:

Commonly found associated with moss and leaf litter in moist environments. Rarely occur in freshwater environments. Worldwide.

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Feeding:

Observed to establish colonies on bacteria (Wood, 1973).

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Biology and Ecology:

Most known Plectus species are parthenogenetic. Some readily become anhydrobiotic and can be recovered from extreme habitats, for example, Antarctic dry valleys and arctic tundra (Borgmeier et al., 2022).

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Life Cycle:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

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References:

Borgmeier, A., Gattoni, K., Harris, T., Higgins, R., Mullin, P. Prazinska, D., Powers, K., Wedin, D., Powers, T. 2022. Plectus of the Prairie: A Case Study of Taxonomic Resolution from a Nematode Biodiversity Survey. J. Nematology 54: | DOI: 10.2478/jofnem-2022-0039

Wood, F.H. 1973. Nematode feeding relationships: Feeding relationships of soil-dwelling nematodes. Soil Riol. Biochem. 5: 593-601.

Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: June 20, 2023.