Matricidal hatching in Rhabditis (Cruznema) tripartita

Abstract

Matricidal hatching is the intra-uterine larval development leading to the destruction of the female by the larvae (Luc et al., 1979). Perez (1866) was the first to record intra-uterine hatching in Rhabditis and since then it has been recorded in various Rhabditidae (Ludwig, 1938; Lordello, 1951; Wessing, 1953; Paetzold, 1958; Scott and Whittaker, 1970; Lam and Webster, 1971; Lordello and Zem, 1977; Gonzalez, 1979 and Chongti, 1982). This paper reports a case of matricidal hatching occurring in Rhabditis (Cruznema) tripartita von Linstow, 1906.