Family Tarvaiidae

                                 Revised 01/27/26

Classification:

Phylum Nematoda

  Class Chromadorea

    Subclass Chromadoria

           Order Plectida

          Suborder Plectina

 Superfamily Ceramonematoidea

         Tarvaiidae Lorenzen, 1981

A family of free-living marine nematodes.

•  Lorenzen (1981) erected the Tarvaiidae, and placed it together with the Ceramonematidae, Tubolaimoididae and Diplopeltoididae in the Chromadorida, suborder Leptolaimina, on the basis of the morphological similarities of anterior end and pharyngeal region.

• De Ley & Blaxter, 2004 agreed with the affinities with the abobe; Tchesunov, 2006) follow the same idea of close affinities between four abovementioned families but place them in the Plectida,

•  A phylogenetic analysis based on a single species of Tavaia suggest that it is a sister taxon tomembers of the Desmoscolecida, family Desmoscolecidae

• Some species of Tarvaia have ocelli-like refractive granules at the level of isthmus, posterior to the nerve ring. Many species of Desmoscolecidae have ocelli  positioned posterior but posterior to the esophago-intestinal junction  It emains to be confirmed if the refractive granules of Tarvaia are homologous to ocelli in Desmoscolecidae.

• Further studies, both morphological and molecular,  are necessary before changes are made in the existing classification (Holovachov et al., 2012).

Characteristics:

• Cuticle  striated, no lateral alae no ornamentation.

• Cephalic capsule present

• Outer labial sensilla papilliform, cephalic sensilla setiform.

• Amphid ventrally spiral, loop-shaped

• Stoma undifferentiated

• Female didelphic, ovaries reflexed.

• Male diorchic testes outstretched, supplements absent.

• Caudal glands present, spinneret present.

Ref: Holovachov and Bostrom (2004)

    Go To Dictionary of Terminology 

References

Holovachov, O. and Bostrom, S. 2004. Morphology and systematics of the superfamily Leptolaimoidea Orley, 1880 and Camacolaimoidea Micoletzky, 1924 (Nematoda: Plectida). J. Nem. Morphology and Systematics 7:1-49.

Holovachov, O., Fadeeva, N., Tandigen De Ley, T., Mundo-Ocampo, M., Gingold, R., De Ley, P. 2012. Revision and phylogeny of Tarvaia Allgén, 1934 (Nematoda: Tarvaiidae). Nematology 14:677-708.

Lorenzen, S. 1981. Entwurf eines phylogenetischen Systems der freilebenden Nematoden.(Outline of a phylogenetic system for the free-living nematodes).Veroffentlichungen des Instituts fur Meeresforschung in Bremerhaven 1981 No.Suppl. 7 pp.472 pp. 

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