Desmoscolecida

Specimen of Greeffiella, from here.

Belongs within: Nematoda.

The Desmoscolecida are a group of mostly marine nematodes with a heavily ornamented cuticle and sclerotised head cap.

Characters (from Carlton 2007): Cuticle usually striated, with or without prominent setae on peduncles, spines, scales, wart-like protrusions or desmens; inner and outer labial cephalic sensilla obscure, paralabials setiform, or if outer labials apparent, then often situated on peduncles; amphids vesiculate or circular; stoma very small, unarmed; rugae absent; caudal glands not projected anterior to rectum; female reproductive system didelphic, amphidelphic, gonoducts outstretched or reflexed; male reproductive system monorchic or diorchic.

<==Desmoscolecida [Desmoscolecina, Desmoscolecoidea]
    |--Cyartonematidae LB02
    |--Desmoscolecidae LB02
    |    |--Greeffiella dasyura Cobb 1922 L86
    |    `--Desmoscolex Claparède 1863 [Desmoscolecinae] E86
    |         `--D. aquaedulcis Stammer 1935 E86
    `--Meyliidae LB02
         |--Haptotricoma Lorenzen 1977 L86
         |    `--H. arenaria L86
         `--Desmotimmia Freudenhammer 1975 L86
              `--D. mirabilis L86

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

Carlton, J. T. 2007. The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon, 4th ed. University of California Press.

[E86] Eder, R. 1986. Nematoda from continental subterranean aquatic habitats. In Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) (L. Botosaneanu, ed.) pp. 125-132. E. J. Brill / Dr. W. Backhuys: Leiden.

[LB02] Ley, P. de, & M. Blaxter. 2002. Systematic position and phylogeny. In The Biology of Nematodes (D. L. Lee, ed.) pp. 1-30. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[L86] Lorenzen, S. 1986. Nematoda: Interstitial nematodes from marine brackish and hypersaline environments. In Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) (L. Botosaneanu, ed.) pp. 133-142. E. J. Brill / Dr. W. Backhuys: Leiden.