Amphimermis

Amphimermis	Contents	Rev: 04/15/2025
	Classification	Biology and Ecology
	Morphology and Anatomy	Life Cycle
Return to Amphimermis Menu		Ecosystem Functions and Services
	Distribution	Management
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Enoplea

Dorylaimia
Mermithida

Mermithina: Mermithoidea; Mermithidae; Amphimermis Kaburaki & Imamura, 1932

Type species of the genus: Amphimermis zuimushi Kaburaki & Imamura, 1932

Synonyms:

Complexomermis Filipjev, 1934

Morphology and Anatomy:

Medium to long nematodes, 13-260 mm.
Mouth opening terminal or with slight ventral shift.
Amphids large, usually with porelike aperture.
Six head papillae lateral and sub-medial in position.
Cuticle thick with clearly visible criss-cross fibres.
Longitudinal chords in midbody, six.
Pharyngeal tube long, in sorne species reaching 60 % of body length. PharyngeaJ tube does not reach the mouth opening but ends behind it with a ringlike thickening.
Tail tip in both sexes blunÃƒÂ¹y rounded and ventrally curved.

Ref: Baker and Poinar, 1994

Females:

Vagina elongated, S-shaped, strongly muscularized, often with vulval flap.
Preparasites do not amputate tail and have extremely high mobility.
Eggs numerous, medium-sized, without byssi. .

Males:

Two long, twisted spicules.
Genital papillae in three rows, medial row bifurcates around genital opening.
(Twisted spicules are a charactyeristic of the genus)

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

Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Amphimermis

Species of the genus Amphimermis have been describe parasitizing grasshoppers, damselflies and dragonflies (Rusconi et al., 2020).

As with other Mermithidae, there is a stichosome consisting of a longitudinal serial duplication of esophageal glands (stichocytes, usually about 16) which are exterior to the esophagus musculature, each with a duct into the esophageal lumen
In the later stages of development, stichosome separates from the intestine, which becomes a trophosome in which the walls and lumen of the intestine disappear resulting in a syncyteal structure. with no anal opening to the exterior.

Life Cycle:

For Ecophysiological Parameters for this genus, click

Ecosystem Functions and Services:

Baker, G.L., Poinar Jr, G.O. 1994. Studies on the genus Amphimermis (Nematoda : Mermithidae) : five new species, including four from Orthoptera in southeastern Australia. Fundam. appl. Nematol. 17: 303-321.

Ferris, H. 2007. Stichosomida. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology. http://accesscience.com/abstract.aspx

Kaburaki, T., Imamura, S. 1932. A new mermithid worm parasitic in the rice borer with notes on its life history and habits. Proc. imp. Acad. Japan, 8:109-112.

Rusconi, J.M., Di Battista, C., Balcazar, D., Rosales, M., Achinelly, M.F. 2020. Amphimermis enzoni n. sp. (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitizing damselflies and dragonflies in Argentina. J. Nematology DOI: 10.21307/jofnem-2020-051

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Amphimermis

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Morphology and Anatomy:

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Distribution:

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Feeding:

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Life Cycle:

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Management:

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References: