Mononchida

Head of Mylonchulus, photographed by Laurentiu.

Belongs within: Dorylaimia.

The Mononchida are a group of mostly soil-dwelling (rarely freshwater) predatory nematodes.

Characters (from Ahmad & Jairajpuri 2010): Medium to large nematodes, generally well over 1 mm long. Lip region expanded, lips and labial papillae well expanded. Buccal cavity spacious, strongly sclerotised, posterior quarter or entire length embedded in pharyngeal tissue, provided with tooth or teeth, with or without ventral longitudinal ridges. Subventral walls either smooth or provided with large teeth or small denticles arranged in longitudinal ridges or scattered irregularly. Amphids small, goblet-shaped, aperture post-labial. Pharynx long, cylindrical, strongly muscular, with greatly thickened lumen. Pharyngo-intestinal junction tuberculate or non-tuberculate. Pharyngeal glands uninucleate; one dorsal and two pairs of subventrals, their orifices located posterior to nerve ring. Excretory system, when visible, with an ampulla and a pair of excretory ducts each terminating in a large uninucleate cell, the renette. Female genital system amphidelphic, mono-prodelphic or mono-opisthodelphic, with or without vulval papillae. Males lacking adanal pair of supplements but with a series of ventromedian papillae. Spicules paired and identical, gubernaculum and lateral accessory pieces present. Caudal glands three, uninucleate. Spinneret terminal or subterminal.

<==Mononchida
    |  i. s: Prionchulus H02
    |--Bathyodontina LB02
    |    |--Mononchulidae [Mononchuloidea] LB02
    |    `--Cryptonchoidea LB02
    |         |--Bathyodontidae LB02
    |         `--Cryptonchidae LB02
    `--Mononchina LB02
         |--Anatonchidae [Anatonchoidea] LB02
         `--Mononchoidea LB02
              |--Mononchus Bastian 1865 E86 [Mononchidae LB02]
              |    `--M. italicus Andrassy 1959 E86
              `--Mylonchulus (Cobb 1916) E86 [Mylonchulidae LB02]
                   |--M. arenicolus KH02
                   |--M. cavensis (Schneider 1940) [=Mononchus cavensis] E86
                   |--M. nainitalensis J02
                   `--M. subterraneus (Schneider 1940) [=Mononchus subterraneus] E86

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

Ahmad, W., & M. S. Jairajpuri. 2010. Mononchida: The predatory soil nematodes. Brill.

[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.

[H02] Hope, I. A. 2002. Embryology, developmental biology and the genome. In The Biology of Nematodes (D. L. Lee, ed.) pp. 121-145. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[J02] Justine, J.-L. 2002. Male and female gametes and fertilisation. In The Biology of Nematodes (D. L. Lee, ed.) pp. 73-119. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[KH02] Kerry, B. R., & W. M. Hominick. 2002. Biological control. In The Biology of Nematodes (D. L. Lee, ed.) pp. 483-509. Taylor & Francis: Florence (Kentucky).

[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).