Utahnema gracile

Utahnema gracile	Contents	Rev 04/04/2025
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Utahnema Menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
Return to Leptonchidae Menu	Feeding	References
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Tyleptinae

Utahnema gracile Siddiqi, 1966

Type species of the genus. Utahnema tenuidens Thorne, 1939

Morphology and Anatomy:

Cuticle apparently in two layers, withy fine transverse striae, wavy as typical for Leptonchidae.
Amphids stirrup-shaped, about half as wide as head.
Head set off from body by a constriction,
Six amalgamated lips give the head a slightly hexagonal outlook.
Odontostyle elongate-cylindrical, with a small aperture, about twice head width.
Odontophore simple, rodlike, shorter than spear. Guiding ring single, about a head width from anterior end.
Esophagus a cylindrical muscular tube, expanding in its posterior to form a cylindroical bulb, Esophago-intestinal valve large, rounded,
Nerve ring a little behind middle of esophagus.
Intestine oligocytous, with wide lumen and few granules in its cells.
Pre-rectum about three body widths long. Rectum about as long as tail.
Tail dorsally convex-conoid to a rounded terminus, about 1.25x anal body diam, slightly subdigitate
Two pairs of caudal pores present.

.	Female: Didelphic, amphidelphic, usteri opposwed. Vulva a transverse slit, with slightly raised lips; Vagina extending about halfway into body, not sclerotized. Males: Not found Ref: Siddiqi, 1966
Utahnema gracile A. Amphidial system. B. Tail end of female. C. Head end of female. D. Female. E. Esophageal enlargement and esophago-intestinal valve. F. Vulva and vagina Drawings from Siddiqi, 1966

Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

Feeding:

Possible plant or fungal feeding, long slender odontophore.

Life Cycle:

Ecophysiological Parameters:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this species, click	If species level data are not available, click for genus level parameters

Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Andrassy, I. 2009. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary (Nematoda Errantia) Vol. 111. Humgarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. 508p.

Siddiqi, M.R. 1966. Studies on the Genera Calolaimus Timm, Galophinema Siddiqi, Qudsianema Jairajpuri, and Utahnema Thorne (Nematoda: Leptoncllidae), with Description of U. gracile n. sp. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Washington. 33:157-162.

Thorne, G. 1939. A monograph of the nematodes of the superfamily Dorylaimoidea. Capita Zool. 8: 1-261

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