Family Plectidae

                                 Revised 01/23/26

Classification:

Phylum Nematoda

  Class Chromadorea

    Subclass Chromadoria

Order Plectida

              Suborder Plectina

Superfamily Plectoidea

              Plectidae Orley, 1880 

• Cuticle striated
• Lateral fields distinct 
• Somatic setae usually present, especiially on tail
• Cephalic setae: 4, moderatly long
• Amphid apertures unispiral, circular or slit-like
• Buccal cavity short and wide in anterior, long and narrower posteriorly
• Esophagus muscular, terminal bulb with valvular apparatus abd tongue-like extension
• Renette cell anterior to teminal bulb of esophagus with long  coiloed or twisted excretrory duct
• Tail elongate conoid, usually curved ventrally, with caudal glands and spinneret

Females:

• Didelphic-amphidelphic

Males:

• Diorchic
• Spicules curved, moderate length, with associated gubernaculum
• Tubular sclerotized supplements usually present

Three subfamilies recognized:

Anaplectinae Zell, 1993 - with somatic stae only on tails, narrow slit-like amphids, anterior part of stoma globular, males and females equally common.

Plectinae Orley, 1880 - with somatic setae over whole body, spiral or circular amphids, males rare,

Wilsonematinae Chitwood, 1951 - with swollen anterior body bearing  bilateral labial processes or cuticular outgrowths, spiral amphids, males rare.

    Go To Dictionary of Terminology 

References

Andrassy, I. 2005. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary Volume 1. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest

Holovachov,O. 2016. Identification keys to genera and species of the suborder Plectina, order Plectida (Nematoda). Swedish Museum of Natural History and ArtDatabanken

Maggenti, A.R. 1959. The Morphology, Biology and Taxonomy of the genus Plectus (Nemata: Plectidae) PhD Thesis, University of California, Berkeley

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