Trilepta

Trilepta	Contents	Rev: 06/10/2026
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Trilepta Menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
Return to Thoracostomopsidae Menu	Feeding	References
	Go to Nemaplex Main Menu	Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

Enoplea
Enoplia Enoplida
Enoplina
Enoploidea
Thoracostomopsidae: Trileptiinae

Trilepta Cobb, 1920

Type species. Trilepta guttatum (Cobb, 1920).

Synonyms:

Trilepta Cobb, 1933

Note: In a somewhat complex reorganization of a part of the Thoracostomopsidae, Zograf et al (2025) indicate that the type spces was originally described by Cobb (1933). However, Cobb indicated that the name Trilepta was already occupied, so he change the name to Trileptium. Since Zograf et al were unable to verify pre-occupation of Trilepta, they cosidered that name (I think) to be the valid name for the genus and indicated that Trileptium is a junior synonym of Trilepta which must, I think, now be considered a valid genus and to contain all the species not transferred to Neotrileptium

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Cuticle may be smooth or slightly striated.
Three small lips, one dorsal and two subventral.
Cephalic setae are arranged in three circles: six inner labial, six outer labial
and four cephalic (6-6-4 pattern); Males also have a circle with subcephalic setae.
Buccal cavity with one or three teeth of similar sizes, well developed and located near the opening of the cavity. Subventral teeth may be located at the same level or more anterior to the dorsal tooth.
Underdeveloped jaws may or may not be present.
The genus has variable shapes and arrangements of spicules and gubernaculums.
A pre-cloacal supplement may be present or absent in males.

Ref: Vilas-Boas et al., 2015

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

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Distribution:

Free-living marine nematodes.

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Trilepta

May be predator species

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Predators; regulation of opportunistic species.

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Management:

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References:

Cobb, N.A., 1920. One hundred new nemas (type species of 100 new genera). Contr. Sci. Nematol. 9: 217-343.

Cobb, N.A., 1933. New nemic genera and species, with taxonomic notes. J. Parasitol. 20: 81-94. https://doi.org/10.2307/3272166.

Vilas-Boas, A.C., da Silva, M.C., de Souza Alves, O.F., de Castro, F.J.V., Pinheiro-Junior, E.P. 2015. A new species of Trilepta (Nematoda: Thoracostomopsidae) from Bahia, Brazil. Zoologia 33(1): e20150043 | DOI: 10.1590/S1984-4689zool-20150043

Zograf, J.K., Efimova, K.V., Mordukhovich, V.V. 2025. Integrative descriptions of two new Thoracostomopsidae species (Nematoda, Enoplida) with the brief discussion on nematode spicules origin. Zoologischer Anzeiger 319: 50-69.