Family Pratylenchidae

                                 Revised 01/31/26

Classification:

Phylum Nematoda

  Class Chromadorea

    Subclass Chromadoria

Order Rhabditida

Suborder Tylenchina

Superfamily Tylenchoidea

     Pratylenchidae Thorne, 1949
   

Synonyms:
      Nacobbidae (Chitwood, 1950)
      Radopholidae (Allen & Sher, 1967)

Morphology and Anatomy:

•  Body slender, vermiform to greatly swollen. 
• Lip region low, less than 0.5 the diameter of basal lip annule; generally with fewer than five annules
•  Cephalic framework well developed, especially the basal plate. 
• Deirids rare (Pratylenchoides - moved to Merliniidae). 
• Phasmids located on tail region. 
• Tails generally more than two anal body diameters long. 
• Stylet strong, but short, less than 2.5 times longer than the diameter of basal lip region annulus.
•  Esophageal glands overlap the intestine, generally ventrally (exception:  some Pratylenchoides). 
• Male caudal alae peloderan. 
• Females with one or two genital branches (when one the posterior branch is a postuterine sac).
• Columned uterus composed of three rows of cells. 
• Sexual dimorphism may occur, either male feeding apparatus atrophied or females may be saccate.
•  Obligate endoparasites of higher plant roots, either migratory or sedentary parasites.

Ref: Maggenti, et al. (1987), H. Ferris

    Go To Dictionary of Terminology 

References

Maggenti, Luc, Raski, Fortuner & Geraert, 1987. Rev. Nematol. 10:135-142.

H. Ferris

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