Description (from Thorne, 1929)
Characters of Dorylaimus with these differences:
Labial papillae absent, their place being taken by a circular ring about
the entrance to the pharynx. Vulva at 34%; ovaries two; vagina heavily
cutinized the entire length, the cutinized walls being hemispherical in
appearance from a lateral view. Tail ventrally bent, ending in a
sharp, hooked terminus.
This exceeding beautiful nema owes its name to the
brilliant golden color of the contents of the intestine. Usually
only the portion posterior to the vulva is colored but occasionally it
extends forward almost to the esophagus.
The slender body is widest at the vulva. Anteriorly
it tapers uniformly to the lip region which is two-fifths as wide as the
body width at the vulva and half as wide as the neck at the base
of the esophagus. Posteriorly it tapers with a like uniformity to
a point near the beginning of the prerectum where it becomes more conoid
and ends in an acute, ventrally bent, hooked terminus. The cuticle
is marked by excessively fine striae that usually are visible only on the
anterior portion of the body. On favorable specimens these striae
can sometimes be resolved into rows of exceedingly minute dots.
The hexagonal lip region bears a single circlet
of innervated papillae on the outer margin but they do not interfere with
the contour of the head. The amphid openings are obscure, slit-like
markings about one-fourth as wide as the head and from them the inner connections
can easily be traced back to fusiform sensilla pouches located somewhat
back of the base of the spear. About the mouth is a ridge set off
by a circular furrow in the face. In the center of this circular
area is the slightly depressed entrance to the narrow, tubular vestibule.
The double guiding ring of the spear is of exceedingly delicate construction.
The dorylaimoid spear is slightly longer than the width of the lip region
and uniform in width in the posterior two-thirds, the anterior third tapering
to a very sharp point. The anterior portion of the typically dorylaimoid
esophagus is but one-fourth as wide as the posterior portion, the esophagus
being enlarged at its middle by a rather sudden expansion. The indistinct
nerve ring crosses the esophagus rather squarely and its location is marked
by somewhat refractive bodies, apparently six in number. The lumen
of the esophagus is unusually narrow. The cardia is elongate-hemispherical
in form and one-third as wide as the body. The thin walls of the
intestine are made up of large cells in which the granules are fine and
scattered. The prerectum is one to two times as long as the rectum
and is slightly narrower than the adjoining portion of the intestine.
The straight rectum is as long as the anal body-diameter. From the
depressed vulva the cutinized vagina leads one-third the distance across
the body, its walls being hemispherical. The front ovary is on the
right, the rear on the left, side of the body and they are reflexed almost
to the vulva. When crowded by the eggs, which are four times as long
as the body width, they sometimes extend past the vulva or are folded again.
No phasmids or deirids have been seen. Males unknown.
Only one specimen in this collection but many others
have been secured from soil collected in fields, deserts and mountains
of Utah, Colorado and California. Three specimens found on the surface
of "Mormon Crickets." Anabrus simplex, secured on Diamond
Mountain, Uintah County, Utah. It may inhabit the bodies of other
insects which might account for its wide distribution from sea level on
the Pacific Coast to the top of Longs Peak, Colorado.
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