Hopping locomotion in a nematode: Functional anatomy of the caudal gland apparatus of Theristus caudasaliens sp. n.

The interstitial nematode Theristus caudasaliens n. sp. normally locomotes by hopping on the left side of its tail tip, a mode of locomotion that is unique among nematodes. The animal uses its caudal glands and caudal musculature to perform the hops, attaching itself momentarily between hops with the glands and executing the hops by straightening and curling the posterior part of its body. The caudal gland apparatus can be seen by electron microscopy to consist of five gland cells of two different types. Three of these cells, termed viscid glands, are involved in adhesion of the animal to substrates and produce ovoid granules with a central dense band. The other two cells are characterized by smaller, lessdense granules and presumably function in releasing the animal from substrates. The ducts of both gland types extend to the tail tip where they terminate in a common crescent-shaped space. Their secretions are released to the outside through two pores on the left side of the tail tip. There is no spinneret valve in this nematode. The muscles of the tail and of the mid-body region are developed to the same extent. The caudal gland apparatus can be compared with the duo-gland adhesive organs of other interstitial animals, but its homology with either these organs or the caudal glands of other nematodes is uncertain. Theristus caudasaliens is described as a new species.