''Eophasma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of fossil

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

s from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

Osteno Claino con Osteno (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about north of Como. It is a small ''comune'' on Lake Lugano, composed of a series of small ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It has only one species, ''Eophasma jurasicum''. In 2011, the genus was placed in the new family Eophasmidae Poinar, 2011, which is itself placed in the order

Desmoscolecida Desmoscolecida is an order of marine nematodes. It has just one suborder, Desmoscolecina, which itself has one superfamily, Desmoscolecoidea. In a worm of this order, the body tapers towards each end and is marked by a number of well-defined ridg ...

, superfamily Desmoscolecoidea.

References

†Eophasma Monotypic prehistoric nematode genera Jurassic invertebrates Fossils of Italy Chromadorea {{paleo-invertebrate-stub