Rev. 02/01/24
Phylum Nematoda Diesing, 1861
Class Enoplea Inglis, 1983
Subclass Enoplia Pearse, 1942
Enoplida Filipjev, 1929
Inhabit marine environments (intertidal, shallow water and derep sea sediments) and brackish water, or moist terrestrial habitats.
Feed as carnivores (predators) or on diatoms and algae.
Cuticle usually smooth but may be finely striated and often has scattered somatic setae.
Head cuticle may form a cephalic helmet.
Usually 3 whorls of anterior sensillae, 6 inner labial papillae or setae, 6 outer labial setae and 4 cephalic setae; sometimes the cephalic setae are sufficiently anterior that, with the outer labial setae, there appears to be single whorl of 10.
Amphids pocket like withslit-like openings, or circular openings in some cases.
Stoma armed with teeth.
Ocelli may be present in aquatic forms.
Esophagus cylindrical, may be expanded at base.
Five esophageal glands, 3 ducted to stoma region.
Metanemes, filamentous stretch receptors, present in the epidermal chords, thought to co-ordinate movement. Many taxa in this group exhibit whip-like movements of the body when anchored at the spinneret.
Excretory system a ventral gland with excretory ductusually anterior to nerve ring.
Females usually diovarial, amphidelphic, but mono delphis in some taxa.
Males monorvhic with 2 spicules and a gubernaculum.
Males with varying numbers of precloacal supplements.
Caudal glands ducted to a terminal spinneret in the tail region.
Andrássy, I. 2007. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary, Vol. II. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.
Cid del Prado, I.,
H. Ferris and S.A. Nadler. 2010.
Soil inhabiting nematodes of the genera
Trischistoma, Tripylina
and Tripyla from México and the USA
with descriptions of new species. Journal
of Nematode Morphology and Systematics 13-28-49.
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