New proposal for a detailed description of the dorylaim spicule (Nematoda: Dorylaimida)

Abstract

The morphology of dorylaimid spicules is richer than usually conceived and shows interesting interspecific variations that have not received much attention. New ideas are proposed to describe these structures, including a delimitation or definition of their parts and a series of morphometrics, either (absolute) measurements or ratios. Three descriptive examples are presented. Several morphological characters (head shape, development of the ventral hump, etc.) and a number of morphometric features (total and relative lengths, relative size of the median piece, terminal tip width, etc.) are especially useful for species characterisation and comparative purposes.