Merlinius		Contents		Rev 01/17/2026
		Classification		Hosts
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Merlinius Menu		Economic Importance		Damage
		Distribution		Management
Return to Merliniidae Menu		Feeding		References
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Classification:

Chromadorea
       Rhabditida

Tylenchina
        Tylenchoidea

           Merliniiidae

 Merliniinae

          Merlinius Siddiqi, 1970

    Synonyms:
Allentylenchus Khan & Saeed, 1988
  

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Morphology and Anatomy:

• Body usually < 1 mm long (except M. adakensis Bernard, 1984, M. graminicola (Kirjanova, 1951) Siddiqi, 1976 and M. productus (Thorne, 1949) Sher, 1974),
• Cuticle lacking longitudinal striae or grooves; lateral field with six incisures, normally not areolated posterior to esophageal region.
• Deirids distinct, in four-incisure region of lateral field.
• Cephalic region continuous or slightly set off, not bulbous; annules broken by six radial grooves; perioral disc indistinct, hexagonal, not well demarcated from surrounding labial area; submedian sectors wider than lateral sectors bearing amphidial apertures located posterior to border of oral plate.
• Stylet usually under 20 um long (except M. adakensis where it is 34 (32-36) um long).
• Vulva closed, slit-like; epiptygma indistinct.
• Female tail conoid to subcylindrical, pointed or occasionally with a mucro.
• Spicules cylindroid, straight to slightly arcuate, tip blunt to notched.
• Gubernaculum crescent-shaped in lateral view.

Ref Handoo et al., 2007

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Distribution:

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Economic Importance:

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Feeding:

Food Sources and Feeding strategies for the genus Merlinius

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Hosts:

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Life Cycle:

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Damage:

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Management:

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References:

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: January 17, 2026.