Desmodoridae Filipjev, 1922

Armenteros, Maickel, Ruiz-Abierno, Alexei & Decraemer, Wilfrida, 2014, Revision of Desmodorinae and Spiriniinae (Nematoda: Desmodoridae) with redescription of eight known species, European Journal of Taxonomy 96, pp. 1-32 : 4

Family Desmodoridae Filipjev, 1922

Type genus

Desmodora de Man, 1889 (syn. Mastodex Steiner, 1921: 25 ).

Diagnosis (emended from Decraemer & Smol 2006)

Amphidial fovea spiral, variable (mostly in Stilbonematinae ). Pharynx with muscular posterior bulb except in Stilbonematinae with a tripartite pharynx with marked anterior procorpus, narrower isthmus and posterior bulb. Tail conical (rarely conical-cylindrical, only in Perspiria and Spirodesma Cavalcanti et al., 2009 ). Gubernaculum mostly with apophysis dorsally oriented (rarely with dorso-caudal orientation, only in Adelphos Ott, 1997 , Catanema Cobb, 1920 , Parabostrichus Tchesunov, Ingels & Popova, 2012 and Robbea Gerlach, 1956 ).

There are three changes hereby proposed to the diagnosis by Decraemer and Smol (2006). First, the variable shape of the amphidial fovea (i.e., one to two turns) also at subfamily level, e.g., the mostly cryptospiral amphidial fovea in Desmodorinae and Spiriniinae can be a spiral of 1–2 turns in Stilbonematinae ( Eubostrichus Greeff, 1869 , Laxus ) or a shepherd´s crook ( Leptonemella Cobb, 1920 ) or reduced to the aperture of the canalis amphidialis ( Stilbonema Cobb, 1920 ). Second, the exception of conical-cylindrical tail to include the genera Perspiria and Spirodesma . Third, the correction of apophysis orientation, which is mostly dorsally oriented except in four genera of Stilbonematinae ( Adelphos , Catanema , Parabostrichus and Robbea ). The scarcity of diagnostic features and the number of exceptions reflexes the morphological diversity of this family.