Nygolaimidae is a family of soft-bodied

nematodes 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 (he ...

belonging to the order

Dorylaimida Dorylaimida (dorylaims) is a diverse order of nematodes with both soil and freshwater species. Taxonomy History The order originated with the description of '' Dorylaimus stagnalis'' by Dujardin in 1845, and in 1876 De MAn proposed the fam ...

. Some members of this

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

are found in terrestrial

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

habitats.

Description

Genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of this family are about 1 to 7.3

millimeters 330px, Different lengths as in respect of the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 metre to 1 millimetre. The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, i ...

in length. Most in this

are characterized by a thin cutical, smooth or fine striations, a spear-like non-protrusible mural

tooth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tea ...

located on the left submedian wall of

stoma In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek language, Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the Epidermis (botany), epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exc ...

, a basal portion of the

esophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus (Œ, archaic spelling) (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), c ...

surrounded by a thin sheath, strong spicules with

males Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

and short and blundy tails in both

sexes Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inherit ...

Genera

Genera: * '' Afronygus'' Heyns, 1968 * '' Aporcelaimoides'' Heyns, 1965 * '' Laevides'' * '' Aquatides'' Heyns, 1968 * '' Nygellus'' * '' Paranygolaimus'' * '' Paravulvus'' * '' Solididens''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4131076 Enoplea Nematode families