Genus Criconematidae

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ORDER RHABDITIDA
INFRAORDER TYLENCHOMORPHA
            Family Criconematidae

Family Criconematidae Taylor, 1936

“The ring nematodes have a short, sausage-shaped body that may curve in a ring when relaxed; with about 33-200 thick retrose annules and a long stylet which bears anchor-shaped basal knobs.  They move sluggishly, crawling like a worm” other members of the tylenchs generally have ondulating motions.  Many have cuticular outgrowths, like scales and spines, and “Hemicriconemoides females have round annules and a cuticular body sheath, but its juveniles have retrose annules and are scaled” Siddiqi, 2000

 “DIAGNOSIS
Criconematoidea.
All stages vermiform:  Small to large animals (up to 1.9 mm).
Female:  Body sausage-shaped to cylindrical.  Cuticle thick, lacking a typical lateral field (sometimes marked by irregularities in body annuli and/or superficial longitudinal lines very variable within the same species).  Body annuli either retrorse, provided or not with lobation, crenation, scales or spines or rounded and covered or not with an extra cuticular layer.  Labial area variously shaped; submedian lobes absent or variously developed.  Labial sclerotization strong.  Stylet massive; cone much longer than base plus knobs; stylet knobs anchor-shaped or sloping backwards.  Isthmus very short; oesophageal glandular bulb markedly reduced.
Male:  No stylet.  Spicules variously shaped.  Caudal alae absent to well-developed.
Juveniles:  Cuticle showing same range of variations as in female, but in some groups juvenile and female may have different ornamentation; cuticular spines or scales, if present, arranged in longitudinal rows, stylet nonreduced, functional (lacking in some male J4 of Hemicycliophora species).” From Powers and Mullin website http://nematode.unl.edu/

Taxa from the family Criconematidae found at KBS (Clik to see images):
Genus Crossonema
Genus Mesocriconema
Genus Ogma
Genus Xenocriconemella
Genus Hemicriconemoides


References:

Powers T. and P. Mullin. Plant and Insect Parasitic Nematodes. University of Nebraska Nematology Website. http://nematode.unl.edu/

Siddiqi, MR.  2000.  Tylenchida.  Parasites of Plants and Insects, 2nd Edition. CABI Publishing. 848pp.