THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE CUTICLE OF NEMATODA .1. THE BODY CUTICLE WITHIN THE STILBONEMATINAE (ADENOPHOREA, DESMODORIDAE)

The ultrastructure of the body cuticle in species of six of seven repr esentative genera of Stilbonematinae (Eubostrichus, Catanema, Laxus, R obbea, Leptonemella, and Stilbonema) was investigated using SEM and TE M techniques. Additionally, one species of Spirinia (Spiriniinae) and one of Desmodora (Desmodorinae) were studied for outgroup comparison. The body cuticle of all investigated stilbonematids shows a consistent pattern composed of specific elements in a characteristic arrangement to each other. This pattern does not occur in Stilbonematinae alone, but also in Desmodorinae and Spiriniinae. Furthermore, a comparison wi thin the Desmodorida reveals that this cuticular pattern apparently is present in the cuticle of representatives of Monoposthiidae, Epsilone matidae, and Draconematidae. The present results lead to the following conclusions: (1) the cuticle of Stilbonematinae contains no autapomor phic characters for this taxon, (2) there is a common cuticular patter n within the Desmodorida, and (3) this pattern is an autapomorphic cha racter for the order Desmodorida.