Nematodes are the second most diverse animal phylum (after the arthropods), with about 20,000 species. Free-living nematodes are abundant in soils and sediments, where they feed on bacteria and detritus. Some nematodes are plant parasites, including organisms that cause disease in economically important crops. Others parasitize animals (including humans). Well-known parasitic nematodes include hookworms, pinworms, Guinea worm (genus Dracunculus), and intestinal roundworms (genus Ascaris). Most nematodes are long, slender, almost featureless externally, tapered at both ends, and round in cross section.- Category ID : 418432
Information from Wikipedia on these roundworms that are lethal insect parasitoids, and some of which are used in the biological control of insect populations.
Introduction to soil nematodes, their classification, feeding habits, place in the community and function in the decomposition process, with an anatomical diagram of a typical plant parasitic species.
The Nematode-Plant Expert Information System, a virtual encyclopedia on soil and plant nematodes, developed and maintained at the University of California, Davis.
Collaborative wiki which collates information on completed, ongoing and planned genome and transcriptome sequencing projects on species from the phylum Nematoda.
Links to films showing the growth and development of C. elegans from researchers worldwide, housed in the laboratory of Bob Goldstein at UNC Chapel Hill.
Information on the nematodes, Anisakis simplex and Pseudoterranova decipiens, which can infect humans who eat raw fish, with diagrams and information on their life cycle.
Information on the nematodes Gnathostoma spinigerum and Gnathostoma hispidum which can infect vertebrates, with a diagram and information on their life cycle.
Information on the nematode Dracunculus medinensis which can infect humans and cause guinea worm disease, with a diagram and information on its life cycle.
Information on Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease which is transmitted by blood-sucking triatomine bugs, with diagrams and information on the life cycle of the parasite.
Information on the nematodes Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus which can invade and parasatize humans, and a diagram and information on their life cycle.