Rev: 03/05/2026
Thoracostoms Marion, 1870
Type species of the genus:
Synonyms:
Thoracostoma differs from the related genera Pseudocella and Deontostoma by the presence of eyespots and a tropis (an anterior projection of the cephalic capsule). The tropis is absent in Deontostoma, and can be either absent or present in Pseudocella. The latter genus lacks eyespots (Hope, 1967; De Oliveira et al., 2012).
Male:
Ref: Hope, 1967
Female:
Didelphic-amphidelphic, overies reflexed
Free-living marine nematodes. Often assdociated withy the holdfast of kelp and other algal communities (De Oliveira et al., 2012) .
Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Thoracostoms
Epistrate feeders
Based on their integrative approach, De Oliveira et al (201) postulate that there are morphological differences amongst genetic lineages within what was previously thought to be one nominal species. Consequently, by describing the new species and giving them scientific names (T. fatimae and T. igniferum), they ensured that these closely related species are no longer cryptic. They explain that this is important for a wide range of future studies addressing biogeography, biodiversity, phylogeography, and population genetics of nematodes in general, and Thoracostoma in particular.
De Oliveira, D.A.S., Decraemer, W., Holovachov, O., Burr, J., De Ley, I.T., De Ley, P., Moens, T., Derycke, S. 2012. An integrative approach to characterize cryptic species in the Thoracostoma trachygaster Hope, 1967 complex (Nematoda: Leptosomatidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 164:18-35.
Hope W.D., 1967. Free-living marine nematodes of the genera Pseudocella Filipjev, 1927, Thoracostoma Marion, 1870, and Deontostoma Filipjev, 1916 (Nematoda: Leptosomatidae) from the West Coast of North America. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 86: 307-334.