LA FAMILIA CRICONEMATIDAE EN LAS ISLAS CANARIAS

Abstract

The family Criconematidae in the Canary Islands. A revision of the distribution of the family Criconematidae on the Canary Islands indicated the frequency of ocurrence of species as: Criconema mutabile (32.3%), Crossonema multisquamatum (26.3%), Macroposthonia curvata (12.4%), Criconemoides informis (8.3%), M. xenoplax (7.2%), Criconema annulifer (6.4), M. spaherocephala (2.2%), Criconema demani (1.2%), Criconemelia parva 0.20/0), Seriespinula cobbi 0.2%), Criconema crotaloides (0.6%) and Seriespinula bungarica (0.6%). From a faunistic point of view a subtropical component is represented by C. mutabile and C. multisquamatum and an atlantic component by C. annulifer, C. crotaloides, C. demani, S. cobbi and S. bungarica which appear very frequently in natural ecosystems. C. mutabile and C. multisquamatum ocurred in high population densities in the rhizosphere of banana and C. informis, M. curvata and M. xenoplax in the rhizosphere of fruit trees, grapevines and potatoes. The faunistic structure in the Islands is similar to that of the Mediterranean basin.