Tem Observations On the Body Cuticle of Trichodoridae Thorne, 1935 (Nematoda: Enoplia)

Observations are reported on the fine structure of the cuticle of Paratrichodorus minor, P. nanus, P. rhodesiensis and Trichodorus eburneus. The ultrastructure of the cuticle was similar in Paratrichodorus and Trichodorus species; six layers were observed, the innermost layer consisting of three multilaminate units. The anatomy of the cuticle in Trichodorids was quite different from previous observations in other orders of Adenophorea. Two sets of intracuticular canals were observed as well as a peculiar type of junction between cuticle and somatic muscles. These results confirm previous studies on the anatomy of trichodorids and support the withdrawal of the family Trichodoridae from Dorylaimida. Siddiqi's (1983) classification of the trichodorids under the order Triplonchida should be considered with attention.