Pomponema

Pomponema	Contents	Rev: 08/28/2025
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Pomponema Menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
Return to Cyatholaimidae Menu	Feeding	References
	Go to Nemaplex Main Menu	Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Chromadorea
Chromadoria
Chromadorida: Chromadorina
Chromadoroidea
Cyatholaimidae: Pomponematinae
Pomponema Cobb, 1917
Type species of genus: Pomponema mirabile Cobb, 1917

Synonyms:

Morphology and Anatomy:

Body cuticle heterogeneous with fine punctations, and with or without lateral differentiation of longitudinal rows of enlarged dots commencing some distance behind the head and occasionally with slit like markings.
Cuticle in head region may be thick with punctations appearing in lateral view as elongated rods with Y-shaped ends.
Anterior sensilla in two circles, 6 + (6 + 4). Inner labial sensilla setiform. Outer labial and cephalic sensilla setiform and usually jointed in same circle with tip section markedly narrower than base, (6 + 4) arrangement of cephalic setae, six larger than four, but the four smaller setae sometimes absent or so small and adherent to the six larger setae that they cannot be detected.
Amphideal fovea multispiral.
Buccal cavity armed with a large pointed dorsal tooth, medium-sized subventral teeth, and with or without additional minute denticles.
Pharyngeal bulb absent.
Tail conico-cylindrical with a swollen tip.

Ref: Cidreira et al., 2019: Tchesunov, 2014

Females:

Didelphic, amphidelphic

Males:

Diorchic, rarely monorchic, two opposed testes,
Precloacal supplements of several elements best seen in ventral view.
Gubernaculum with variously structured distal ends, sometimes with L-shaped lateral plates or lateral flanges bearing blunt teeth.

Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:

Distribution:

The genus has many species and is quite common in marine environments worldwide.

Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Pomponema

Life Cycle:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click

Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Cidreira, G., Pinheiro-Junior, E.P., Venekey, V. and de Souza Alves, O.F. 2019. A new species of Pomponema Cobb, 1917 (Nematoda: Cyatholaimidae) from Northeast of Brazil, with reference to the taxonomic status of the genera Parapomponema Ott, 1972 and Propomponema Ott, 1972. Zootaxa, 4691 (1), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4691.1.5.

Cobb. N.A. 1917. Notes on Nemas. Contributions to a Science of Nematology (Baltimore), 117-128.

Ott. J.A. 1972. Twelve new species of Nematodes from an Intertidal Sandflat in North Carolina. Int Rev Ges Hydrobiol Hydrogr. 57(1):463-496. doi: 10.1002/iroh.19720570307.

Tchesunov, A.V. 2014 Order Chromadorida Chitwood, 1933. In: Schmidt-Rhaesa A. (Ed.), Handbook of Zoology: Gastrotricha, Cycloneuralia and Gnatifera, Volume 2: Nematoda. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 373-398.

Wieser, W. and Hopper, B.E. 1967 : Marine nematodes of the east coast of North America I. Florida. - Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool. 186 (5): 239-344.

Pomponema

Contents

Classification:

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Morphology and Anatomy:

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Distribution:

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Feeding:

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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:

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: August 28, 2025.

Pomponema

Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris. Revised: August 28, 2025.

Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: August 28, 2025.