Nemathelminthes

Nemathelminthes

[‚nem·ə‚thel′min·thēz]

(invertebrate zoology)

A subdivision of the Amera which comprised the classes Rotatoria, Gastrotrichia, Kinorhyncha, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, and Acanthocephala.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Nemathelminthes

 

(also Aschelminthes), a phylum of invertebrates including the classes Gastrotricha, Kinorhyncha, Rotatoria, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Acanthocephala, and Priapulida. The unsegmented body is more or less completely covered with a cuticle. The sense organs include eyes, olfactory pits, and tactile organs. Between the dermomuscular tube and the gut there is a broad buccal cavity. The alimentary canal begins with a rudimentary mouth and ends in an anus. The excretory organs are protonephridia, or modified skin glands. There is no respiratory or circulatory system. The nerve system consists of a brain and nerve stems. The sexes are separate.

Some zoologists treat the phylum as a subphylum of Scolecida.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.