Subfamily BELONOLAIMINAE
Rhabditida
Tylenchina
Tylenchoidea
Dolichodoridae
Belonolaiminae
Morphology and Anatomy:
- Body vermiform, 1-3mm long
- Lip region offset; high, rounded, oval or slightly flattened.
- Cephalic framework usually with four lobes.
- Amphid apertures dorsoventral slits located at the edge of the labial disc.
- Lateral field with
one, two to four lines; areolated.
- Body cuticle sometimes with longitudinal ridges.
- Stylet very long (60-150μm.
- Esophagus usually with a slender procorpus, rounded metacorpus, slim
isthmus and a glandular
postcorpus
overlapping intestine, usually laterally.
- Female tail cylindroid to conoid, more than twice as long as wide, often with thick terminal cuticle, never elongate
filiform (typically
c' = 2 to 5).
- Phasmids always confined to the tail region.
- Females with two genital branches.
- Male
caudal alae
peloderan (enclosing
tail).
- Deirids present or absent.
- Obligate root parasites, generally
migratory ectoparasites, but some taxa
may be capable of feeding as endoparasites.
References:
Fortuner & Luc, Rev. Nematol. 10:183-202 (1987)
Geraert, E. 2011. The Dolichodoridae of the World. Academia
Press, Gent Belgium. 520p.
H. Ferris
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