Subfamily CRICONEMATINAE

                               Rev 05/05/08

Classification:

      Tylenchida
       Tylenchina
        Criconematoidea
         Criconematidae 
          Criconematinae (Taylor, 1936)
    Synonyms:
      Macroposthoniinae (Skarbilovich, 1959)
      Madinematinae (Khan, Chawla & Saha, 1975)
      Criconemellinae (Khan & Saeed, 1985)

Morphology and Anatomy:

      Female:

• Mostly small, stout nematodes, up to 0.86mm;
• single ovary;
• annulation strongly developed with smooth or slightly crenate cuticle, or various scale/spine-like projections off posterior margins of annuli;
• lateral field absent, or at most an irregular line formed by anastomosing annuli;
• submedian lobes present or absent; lip region with strong sclerotization, not set off (Criconemoides) or with first one or two annuli variously separated from succeeding body annuli;
• stylet massive, cone much longer than shaft plus knobs;
• procorpus merges gradually into metacorpus,
• isthmus very short, only slightly setting off reduced posterior bulb.  

     Male:

• Degenerate,
• stylet lacking;
• esophagus lacking or rudimentary;
• fine to moderate annulation, lacking cuticular ornamentation, except rarely papilla-like projections on  terminus (Ogma seymouri);
• lateral field two to four longitudinal lines,
• spicules slightly curved,
• caudal alae, if present, weakly developed or absent (well developed in Nothocriconemoides crenulatus).       

     Juveniles:

• Similar to females,
• smooth or slightly crenate annuli, but most have elaborate cuticular ornamentation, mostly as longitudinal rows of scales or spines.          

A very large number of species has been described within the genus Criconemoides sensu lato. The genus was erected by Taylor (1936) to accommodate Criconematidae without cuticular extensions of the annules.  When new genera were erected, the original name, Criconemoides, remained in question due to incomplete original description and lack of availability of type material.  Subsequently, Criconemella was used but because there was no formal diagnosis of that genus, Brzeski et al. (2002a) resurrected the genus name Criconemoides.  The name Criconemoides was proposed by Andrássy (1965) for species within Criconemoides with crenated margins of the annules.  Through some convoluted history of generic name changes, well documented by Brzeski et al. (2002b), Criconemoides was resurrected as a genus name by Loof and de Grisse, 1989).

     References:

Raski & Luc, Rev.  Nematol. 10:409-444 (1987)

Brzeski, M., Y.E. Choi and P.A.A. Loof. 2002a.  Compendium of the genus Criconemoides Taylor, 1936 (Nematoda: Criconematidae).  Nematology 4:325-339.

Brzeski, M., P.A.A. Loof and Y.E. Choi . 2002b.  Compendium of the genus Criconemoides Andrássy, 1965 (Nematoda: Criconematidae).  Nematology 4:341-360.

Loof, P.A.A and A. De Grisse. 1989. Taxonomic and nomenclatorial observations on the genus Criconemella De Grisse and Loof, 1965 sensu Luc and Raski, 1981. Med. Fac. Landn. Rijksuniv. Gent. 54:53-74.

H. Ferris.

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