Haliplectus

  

Contents

  

Rev: 01/14/2026

  Classification Biology and Ecology
Morphology and Anatomy Life Cycle
Return to Haliplectus Menu Ecosystem Functions and Services
Distribution Management
Return to Haliplectidae Menu Feeding  References
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Classification:

Chromadorea
  Chromadoria
       Plectida
Haliplectoidea
            Haliplectidae
   Haliplectinae
       Haliplectus Cobb, 1913

Type species of the genus: Haliplectus pellucidus Cobb, 1913

 
   Synonyms:
    
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Morphology and Anatomy:

Haliplectus spp. can be separated into two groups characterized by the shape of the basal bulb of the esophagus:

Group1: Monopartite basal bulb with no transverse separation Group 2: Bipartite basal bulb with a transverse separation
  • H. algoensis
  • H. bruneiensis
  • H. conicephalus
  • H. dorsalis
  • H. gracilis
  • H. leptocephalus
  • H. monodelphis
  • H. obtusicauda
  • H. pellucidus
  • H. robustus
  • H. seychellensis
  • H. tripapillatus
  • H. wheeleri
  • H. bibulbosus
  • H. bickneri
  • H. bidenticulatus
  • H. brevispiculatus
  • H. caudopapillatus
  • H. cylindrocaudatus
  • H. floridanus
  • H. futianisus
  • H. iranicus
  • H. major
  • H. minimus
  • H. minor
  • H. onepui
  • H. pakistanensis
  • H. paradorsalis
  • H. salicornius
  • H. sandspitensis
  • H. schulzi
  • H. shahinae

Genus characterized by:

 

 

Female:

  • didelphic, amphidelphic or monodelphic- prodelphic, ovaries reflexed,

Male: 

  • diorchic, testes outhstretched
  • spicules arcuate, gubernaculum present,
  • precloacal papilliform sensilla present or absent, supplements and postcloacal sensilla absent,

Ref: Holovachov, 2014; Shahina et al.,, 2014
 
Haliplectus algoensis: male anterior, left; female anterior (right).
From Swart et al., 1992
Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:
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Distribution:

Free-living marine nematodes; also reported from mangove and coastal dune areas.

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Haliplectus

 
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Biology and Ecology:

The genus name Haliplectus, designated by Cobb (1913) is based on the root �plectus�, a Greek-derived word meaning twisted and apparently descriptive of the coiled nature of the excretory canal system in the genus Plectus. The prefix �hali� is of Greek origin and refers to an association with sea or salty environments (Andrassy, 2005).

Interestingly, although Cobb (1913) described the type species, H. pellucidus in a paper entitled "New nematode genera found inhabiting fresh water and non-brackish soils", the species description clearly indicates that the species was described from saline conditions in sand below the low-tide mark in a beach at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA (Chitwood, 1956).

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Life Cycle:

 
For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click 
 
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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

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Management:

 
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References:

Andrassy, I. 2005. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary (Nematoda Errantia), I.  Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, 518p.

Chitwood, B.G. 1956. A revision of the genus Haliplectus Cobb, 1913. Proc. Helminth. Soc. Washington 23:78-87.

Cobb, N.A. 1913.  New nematode genera found inhabiting fresh water and non-brackish soils. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 3 (16): 432-444.

Holovachov, O. 2014. 7.16  Order Plectida Gadea, 1973. In: Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. (Ed.). Handbook of zoology. Gastrotricha, Cycloneuralia, Gnathifera. Volume 2: Nematoda. Berlin, Germany, De Gruyter, pp. 487-535.

Shahina, F., Siddiqi, M.R., Nasira, K.  2014. Six new species of Haliplectus Cobb 1913 (Nematoda: Haliplectidae) from mangroves of Karachi, Pakistan. International Journal of Nematology 24:68-80.

Swart A., Heyns, J., Furstenberg, J.P. 1992. Studies on Haliplectus Cobb, 1913. Description of Haliplectus algoensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Haliplectidae, Suborder Leptolaimina). African. J. Zoology 27: 41-44.

Waheed, S., Decreamer, W., Kazi, N., Tariq, R.M., Iqbal. I. 2024. Description of two new species of Haliplectus Cobb, 1913 (Nematoda, Plectida, Haliplectidae) from mangrove areas of Sandspit backwater, Karachi, Pakistan. Zootaxa 5468:154-166.

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: January 14, 2026.