Enchodelus Thorne, 1939

Goodey, T, 1951, 2. Enchodelus Thorne, 1939, Soil And Freshwater Nematodes, London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., pp. 295-301 : 298-301

2. Enchodelus Thorne, 1939

Definition: Tylencholaiminae. Spear lineate with very short aperture, extensions well developed, rod-like or broadly flanged. Guiding ring double, cuticularised. Enlarged portion of oesophagus somewhat shortened, with two conspicuous ventro-submedian nuclei located rather far forward. Ovaries paired in all known species. Males with 7 or more supplements, generally rather closely approximated.

Genotype: Enchodelus macrodorus (de Man, 1880) Thorne, 1939 syn. Dorylaimus macrodorus de Man, 1880

D. (Doryllium) macrodorus (de Man, 1880) Ditl., 1928

Dorylaimellus macrodorus (de Man, 1880) Th. & Swang., 1936

Female, 1.6 to 1.93 mm., a =28.6—37; b =4.6—5.3; c = 53 —69; V= 43-46.7 %. Male, 1. 5 mm., a =28; b = 5; c =67 (after Thorne, 1939)

Body tapering a little in front and very little behind. Cuticle with very fine transverse striae only visible under oil immersion. Head offset by shallow groove, flatly rounded in front with convex lateral contour. Separate lips not distinguishable, all being fused into head but faint indications of usual complement of head papillae visible. Sunk into structure of lip region is a circlet of short rod-like bodies which appear cuticularised in structure and are more refractive than surrounding lip material. Amphids shaped like open bells, aperture at level of head constriction. Spear axial, about 50 μ long, slender, straight; aperture small, close to tip of dorsal side. Guiding ring about half-way down spear surrounded by a clear area rather like an inverted electric light bulb and really forming two guiding rings; the first being at the bottom of the bulb and the second a little further back and connected with the neck of the bulb by a sleevelike tube. Spear extension about 55 μ long, wider than spear and in its posterior half or three-fifths expanded into three flanged swellings. A globose forward extension of the front part of oesophagus surrounds posterior half of the flanges. Anterior half of oesophagus narrow, crossed almost medially by nerve ring; swelling out to form second muscular half. Nuclei of dorsal oesophageal gland easily visible; placed rather far forward, nuclei of two submedian glands also visible. Oesophago-intestinal cells conical. Intestine with yellowish-brown granules. Pre-rectum 5-6 times body width at anus. Rectum about equal to anal body width. Vulva slightly preequatorial, with thickened cuticularised lips. Vagina at right angles to ventral surface, almost half body width in length, walls thick and hyaline. Gonads paired, opposed, reflexed. Female tail hemispherical to bluntly conoid, with 3 lateral caudal papillae or pores. Males of this species are rather rare. Thorne (1939) reported finding one specimen among more than 100 females in a Utah soil. This had dorylaimoid spicules with lateral guiding pieces, tapering distally and there were 12 medic-ventral supplements rather uniformly spaced, three of which were within range of the spicules. Micoletzky (1922) found several males and the supplements varied in number from 6-12. Other species:

Enchodelus analatus (Ditl., 1927) Thorne, 1939 syn. Dorylaimellus (Doryllium) analatus (Ditl, 1927) Th. & Swang., 1936

E. arcuatus Theme, 1939

E. brevicaudatus Thorne, 1939

E. conicaudatus (Ditl., 1927) Thorne, 1939 syn. Dorylaimus conicaudatus Ditl., 1927 Dorylaimellus conicaudatus (Ditl., 1927) Th. & Swang., 1936

E. dolichurus Loos, 1946

E. faeroensis (Ditl., 1928) Thorne, 1939

syn. Dorylaimus (Doryllium) faeroensis Ditl., 1928

Dorylaimellus faeroensis (Ditl., 1928) Th. & Swang., 1936 E. groenlandìcus (Ditl., 1927) Thorne, 1939

syn. Dorylaimellus (Doryllium) groenlandicus Ditl., 1927

Dorylaimellus groenlandicus (Ditl., 1927) Th. & Swang., 1936 E. hopedorus (Thorne, 1929) Thorne, 1939

syn. Dorylaimellus hopedorus Thorne, 1929

E. laevis Thorne, 1939

E. macrodoroides (Steiner, 1914) Thorne, 1939

syn. Dorylaimus macrodoroídes Steiner, 1914

Dorylaimellus macrodoroides (Steiner, 1914) Th. & Swang., 1936 E. minusculus Loos, 1946

E. striatus Thorne, 1939

E. teres Thorne, 1939

E. vesuvianus (Cobb, 1893) Thorne, 1939

syn. Dorylaimus vesuvianus Cobb, 1893

Dorylaimellus vesuvianus (Cobb, 1893) Th. & Swang., 1936 Bionomics. Species of Enchodelus have been collected from soil about plant roots, from mosses and from stream and lake-side situations. They are widely distributed, having been reported from Europe, North America, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Thorne (1939) considers that they feed entirely on plant material of which green cell-like remains can be recognised in the intestinal contents.