Family Tylencholaimoidea

Revised 08/03/20

Tylencholaimoidea Filipjev, 1934

•  Nematodes of the superfamily are generally < 2mm long.
• Cuticle with inner layer with irregular outline, apparently unattached to outer layer, and with abundant refractive radial elements, or  or dorylaimoid (with the inner layer not loose, and radial elements lacking).
• Lip region usually cap-like, offset from body contour and elevated in the stomal region.
•  Lips usually amalgamated, their inner region frequently forming distinct liplets or transformed into a perioral disc.
•  Odontostyle axial, attenuated with distinct lumen and aperture;, occasionally strong and with thickened walls.
• Odontophore rod-like (sometimes arcuate), more or less sclerotized, often with basal knobs or flanges.
• Esophagus a slenderwith weakly muscular anterior portion extending gradually or abruptly.
• Pharyngeal basal expansion often reduced to a cylindrical or pyriform bulb occupying less than 1/3 ot total esophagus length but one-third to one-half of total esophagus length)in one family; occasionally with a valvular chamber.
• Female genital system didelphic or monodelphic, with genital tract poorly differentiated.
•  Vulva usually transverse, sometimes longitudinal or pore-like.
• Male with simple dorylaimid spicules and generally few spaced (very rarely contiguous) ventromedian supplements.
• Tail almost always similar in sexes: long and filiform to short and rounded.

Ref Pena-Santiago (2006).

Dorylaimid esophagi: some general chracteristics

References:

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.

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