Prionchulus		Contents		Rev 12/09/2022
		Classification		Biology and Ecology
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Prionchulus Menu				Ecosystem Functions and Services
		Distribution		Management
Return to Mononchidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Prionchulus head: offset lip region, prominent labial papillae, anteriorly directed dorsal tooth and subventral denticles.
Prionchulus esophageal region	Prionchulus tail region: no spinneret, poorly developed caudal glands
Prionchulus female: diovarial, amphidelphic, sclerotized pieces surrounding vulva
Photomicrographs by Howard Ferris
Males:   Rare. Stout spicules, Ventral row of supplements anterior to cloaca.	Female:   Large nematodes, 1-3 mm length. Lip region slightly offset, prominent labial papillae. Large buccal cavity with dorsal tooth pointing forward, located in anterior region.  Two rows of subventral denticles opposite dorsal tooth. Diovarial, amphidelphic. Spinneret absent..
Body size range for the species of this genus in the database - Click:

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Distribution:

Cosmopolitan distribution, with Europe being particularly rich in species (Andr�ssy, 2006). As of 2018, 30 species have been described  worldwide (Kim et al., 2018). Most of the species in the genus have been collected from moss, leaf litter, and forest soil (van Rensburg, 2021).

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Feeding:

Predaceous on other organisms, especially nematodes.

Prionchulus sp. feeding on nematode prey From moss, La Mancha, Veracruz, México;  photographs by Ignacio Cid del Prado

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Biology and Ecology:

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Life Cycle:

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Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Prionchulus spp. and other mononchids play important roles in bioregulation of litter and soil communities (Dipchikova et al., 2019).

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Management:

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References:

Andr�ssy, I. 1985. �On the genera Mononchus Bastian, 1865 and Prionchulus (Cobb, 1916) Wu and Hoeppli, 1929 (Nematoda: Mononchidae)�, Opuscula Zoologica 21:9-22

Dipchikova, S., Mladenov, A., Peneva, V. and Lazarova, S. 2019. Predatory nematodes of the order Mononchida from riparian habitats in Bulgaria. ARPHA Conference Abstracts 2:e46458, doi: 10.3897/ aca.2.e46458.

Jairajpuri, M.S. and Khan, W.U. 1982. Predatory Nematodes (Mononchida). Associated Publishing, New Delhi 131p.

Kim, J., Kim, T., Ryu, H. N. and Park, J. -K. 2018. Prionchulus oleksandri (Nematoda: Mononchida) from Korea. Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity 34:194-198.

Van Rensburg, C.J., Fourie, H., Ashrafi, F., Rashidifard, M. 2021. Description of Prionchulus jonkershoekensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Mononchida), a new predatory species from South Africa. J. Nematology 53: | DOI: 10.21307/jofnem-2021-039

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: December 09, 2022.