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nematode
[nem-uh-tohd]
noun
any unsegmented worm of the phylum Nematoda, having an elongated, cylindrical body; a roundworm.
adjective
pertaining to the Nematoda.
nematode
/ ˈnɛməˌtəʊd /
noun
Also called: nematode worm. roundworm. any unsegmented worm of the phylum (or class) Nematoda, having a tough outer cuticle. The group includes free-living forms and disease-causing parasites, such as the hookworm and filaria
nematode
Any of several slender, cylindrical worms of the group Nematoda, which some scientists consider to be a class of the aschelminths and others to be a separate phylum. Most nematodes are tiny and live in enormous numbers in water, soil, plants, and animals. They have a simple structure, with a long hollow gut separated from the body wall by a fluid-filled space. Several nematodes, such as pinworm, roundworm, filaria, and hookworm, are parasites on animals and humans and cause disease. One species, Caenorhabditis elegans (usually called C. elegans), was one of the first animals to have its entire genome sequenced and is important in biological research as a model organism.
Example Sentences
The host of life on ice includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, even microscopic animals like nematodes, some dead and some alive in suspended animation.
Organisms that can survive in this suspended, or anabiotic, state, Yarzábal explained, include not just extremophile bacteria but also viruses, fungi, protozoa and microscopic animals called nematodes.
Like modern nematodes, they lacked the segmentation of other worms.
The new nematode fossils predate those Cambrian creatures by about 15 million years, says Hughes, a graduate student at Harvard University.
Paul De Ley, an associate professor of nematology at UCR, confirmed its fit as an early nematode and ruled out other worm types.
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