Revised 01/27/26
Phylum Nematoda
Class Enoplea
Subclass Dorylaimia
Order Dorylaimida
Suborder Dorylaimina
Superfamily Tylencholaimoidea
There are two cuticle types in the Dorylaimida: (a) dorylaimoid with the inner layer not loose or separated from the outer layes and without radial cuticular elements; (b) tylencholaimoid in which the inner cuticular layer is loose and there are irregular radial elements. Among all the families of the Dorylaimida, only Leptonchidae and Tylencholaimidae have the tylencholaimoid cuticle; other families have a dorylaimoid cuticle (Wu et al., 2019).
Characteristics:
Tylencholaimidae are generally small nematodes although some genera and speciies can be several mm long.
Cuticle tylencholaimoid; somewhat loose, two-layered, with irregular refractive elements.
Lip region cap-like, usually offset, lips mostly amalgamated.
Odontostyle varied shape and length, odontophore simple, rod-like or with basal knobs.
Anterior of esophagus slender, posterior enlarged, usually occupying at leats half of total esophageal length.
Female didelphic or monodelphic
Male with ventromedian supplements that are usually spaced.
Tails similar in both sexes.
Dorylaimid esophagi: some general chracteristics
Andrassy, I. 2009. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary III. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. 608p.
Pena-Santiago, R. 2006. Dorylaimida Part 1. Superfamilies Belondiroidea, Nygolaimoidea and Tylencholaimoidea. Pp 326-391 in E. Abebe, István Andrássy, W. Traunspurger (eds) Freshwater Nematodes: Ecology and Taxonomy. CABI Publishing.
Wu, W-J., Xu, C-L., Xie, H., Wang, D-W. 2019. Three new species, one new genus and subfamily of Dorylaimida (de man, 1876) Pearse, 1942, and revisions of the families Tylencholaimellidae Jairajpuri, 1964 and Mydonomidae Thorne, 1964 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida). PeerJ 7:e7541 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7541
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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