Phasmarhabditis Explained

Phasmarhabditis (Greek: Phasma = (φάσμα (phantom); rhabditis = (ῥάβδος (rod-like)) is a genus of bacterial-feeding nematodes which are facultative parasites whose primary hosts are terrestrial gastropods (slugs and snails).^[1] The name comes from Greek: Phasma- (φάσμα (phantom); rhabditis = rod-like (ῥάβδος (rhabdos). The genus is made up of 18 species (as of 2023)^[2] including P. hermaphrodita, P. californica,^[3] P. neopapillosa,^[4] P. papillosa, P. apuliae,^[5] P. bohemica,^[6] P. bonaquaense,^[7] P. huizhouensis,^[8] P. nidrosiensis, P. valida and P. tawfiki.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Genena, M. A., Mostafa, F. A., Fouly, A. H., & Yousef, A. A. (2011). First record for the slug parasitic nematode, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita (Schneider) in Egypt. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 44(4), 340-345.
2. Rae . R. . Avoidance and attraction behaviour of slugs exposed to parasitic nematodes . Journal of Invertebrate Pathology . March 2023 . 197 . 107896 . 10.1016/j.jip.2023.107896. 36758665 . 256679186 . free .
3. De Ley, I. T., Holovachov, O., Mc Donnell, R. J., Bert, W., Paine, T. D., & De Ley, P. (2016). Description of Phasmarhabditis californica n. sp. and first report of P. papillosa (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) from invasive slugs in the USA. Nematology, 18(2), 175-193.
4. Hooper, D. J., Wilson, M. J., Rowe, J. A., & Glen, D. M. (1999). Some observations on the morphology and protein profiles of the slug-parasitic nematodes Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita and P. neopapillosa (Nematoda: Rhabditidae). Nematology, 1(2), 173-182.
5. Nermuť, J., Půža, V., & Mráček, Z. (2016). Phasmarhabditis apuliae n. sp.(Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a new rhabditid nematode from milacid slugs.
6. Nermuť, J., Půža, V., Mekete, T., & Mráček, Z. (2016). Phasmarhabditis bohemica n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a slug-parasitic nematode from the Czech Republic.
7. Nermuť, J., Půža, V., Mekete, T., & Mráček, Z. (2016). Phasmarhabditis bonaquaense n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a new slug-parasitic nematode from the Czech Republic. Zootaxa, 4179(3), 530-531.
8. Huang, R. E., Ye, W., Ren, X., & Zhao, Z. (2015). Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Phasmarhabditis huizhouensis sp. nov. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a new rhabditid nematode from South China. PLoS ONE, 10(12).
9. Azzam, K. M. (2003). Description of the nematode Phasmarhabditis tawfiki n. sp. isolated from Egyptian terrestrial snails and slugs. JOURNAL-EGYPTIAN GERMAN SOCIETY OF ZOOLOGY, 42(D), 79-88.