Rev. 06/15/2026
Inhabit marine environments (intertidal, shallow water and deep sea sediments) and brackish water
Assumed to be predators.
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.
Cephalic capsule absent
Anterior sensilla 6+10
Amphids pocket-like; external aperture oval or widened ellipsoid, not spiral
Buccal cavity large, sclerotized, with teeth (usually 3)
Pharynx cylindrical, conoid
Excretory system a ventral gland with excretory duct posterior to pharynx
Females usually didelphic, amphidelphic
Males diorchic with 2 spicules and a gubernaculum.
Males with varying numbers of precloacal supplements.
Caudal glands extend into precaudal ragion, ducted to a terminal spinneret in the tail.
Andrássy, I. 2007. Free-living Nematodes of Hungary, Vol. II. Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest.
Maggenti, A.R. 1981. General Nematology. Springer Verlag, New York.
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