Rev 04/24/2023
Mesodorylaimus Andrassy 1959
As of 2009, Andrassy reported 150 species of the genus but reflected that intensive study would be necessary to accept the validity of each of the listed species.
ref: Andrassy, 2009
Representative Tail Shapes of Females of Species of Mesodorylaimus
(from Botha and Heyns, 1992)
Predominnatly in terrestrial environments, especially in moist conditions. Some species in freshwater. Reported worldwide.
Categorized as omnivores (Yeates et al., 1993). The predatory behavior of M. bastiani on other nematodes has received detailed study (Bilgarmi, 1995; Bilgrami et al., 2001).
The prey cuticl;e is penetrated by thrusts of the odontostyle (usually 6-9 thrusts are necessary). Body contents of the prey are ingested throught the odontostyle (Bilgrami, 2008).
In a study of the nematode faunae of Florida, USA, McSorley (2012) noted that Eudorylaimus (Qudsianematidae), Aporcelaimellus (Aporcelaimidae) and Mesodorylaimus (Dorylaimidae) are dominant members of the omnivorous nematode fauna. They are also reported as dominant in nematode faunae of Europe. The three genera are often found together and multiple species within the genera may be present in slngle soil samples. In the study, these omnivore nematodes were present in ecosystems that were in nearly all stages of succession but they often reached their greatest numbers in the later stages of succession, such as in soils of old-growth forests. They also showed remarkable adaptation to extreme environments, including Antarctic habitats, dune sands and temperate sites without vegetation. They are reported from a variety of soil types but are limited by soil pH below 4.0. Compared to other nematode taxa, and consistent with their designation of cp 4 and 5 in the Bongers (1990) colonizer-persister system,.they are among the genera most sensitive to moisture levels in sandy soils and to pollution by heavy metals. Some reports also indicate adverse impacts from inorganic fertilisers and other agrichemicals in cultivetd systems.
Andrassy, I. 2009. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary III. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. 608p.
Bongers, T. (1990) The maturity index: an ecological measure of environmental disturbance based on nematode species composition. Oecologia 83, 14-19.
Bilgrami, A.L. 1995. Numerical analysis of the predatory relations between Mesodorylaimus bastiani (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) and different prey trophic categories. Nematologia Mediterranea 23:81-88.
Bilgrami, A.L., Pervez, R., Yoshiga, T., Kondo, E. 2001. Attraction and aggregation behaviour of predatory nematodes, Mesodorylaimus bastiani and Aquatides thornei (Nematoda: Dorylaimida). Applied Entomology and Zoology 36:243-249.
Bilgrami, A.L. 2008. Biocontrol potentials of predatory nematodes. Chapter 1 in Ciancio, A. and Mukerji, K.G. (eds).Integrated Management and Biocontrol of Vegetable and Grain Crops Nematodes pp3-28.
Botha, A. and Heyns, J. 1992. Freshwater nematodes of the genera Thornenema and Mesodorylaimus from the Kruger National Park with a diagnostic species compendium for South African species of the genus Mesodorylaimus (Nematoda: Dorylaimida). Koedoe; 35:25-42. doi: 10.4102/koedoe.v35i1.387
McSorley, R. 2012. Ecology of the dorylaimid omnivore genera Aporcelaimellus, Eudorylaimus and Mesodorylaimus. Nematology 14:645-663.
Taheed, U. and Ahmad, W. 2010. Four new species of the genus Mesodorylaimus Andr�ssy, 1959 (Nematoda: Dorylaimida) from India. Zootaxa 2642: 19�35.
Yeates, G.W., T. Bongers, R. G. M. De Goede, D. W. Freckman, and S. S. Georgieva. 1993. Feeding habits in soil nematode families and genera—An outline for soil ecologists. Journal of Nematology 25:315-331
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