Genus Tripyla
Bastian, 1865
Synonym: Trischistoma Cobb, 1913
             Promononchus Micol., 1923

Photo Galleries:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Konza Prairie

 Species "B" Konza Prairie
Homestead Nat'l Monument



GEN. CHAR.  Body tapering at extremities.  Caudal sucker large, well developed.  Integument thick, having well-marked transverse striae, with lateral and ventral pores; setae none (?); cephalic papillae present or absent. Pharyngeal cavity none. Oesophagus cylindrical, distinctly muscular; posterior part separated by a constriction, but not containing any valvular apparatus.  Intestine rather sparsely covered with coarse granules, their arrangement in cells not being visible.  Vulva at about the middle of body. Uterus bifid, segments symmetrical.  Spicules of an elongated cuneiform shape.  Accessory piece posterior, very small. Lateral canals indistinct, having a faintly granular appearance.  No regular ventral duct, but three large integumental canals in same region, close to anterior extremity.
Movements active, often forming into a coil when touched.
(Description- Bastian, 1865)

Definition: Tripylidae.  Cuticle with transverse striae or smooth.  Head not offset, composed of 3 large, fairly rounded lips bearing 3 circlets of short blunt, or longer, bristle-like papillae.  Amphids very inconspicuous.  Stoma a simple tube, a tooth present in dorsal wall.  Oesophagus almost cylindrical.  Cells of oesphago-intestinal valve well developed.  Vulva almost equatorial; gonads paired, opposed and reflexed.  Testes paired and opposed and emptying into a common vas deferens.  A pair of ejaculatory glands, one on either side, may also be present.  Spicules paired, gubernaculum present.  Caudal glands and terminal duct present.  A mid-ventral series of papillae may also be present in the male.

Type species:  Tripyla glomerans Bastian, 1865

-Goodey, 1963