New nematode is hermaphrodite: One of the smallest known earthworms found in Jaén
Around nine kilometres south of the city of Jaén (Spain), Spanish scientists have found a new species of nematode in the compost at a vegetable garden. The specimens found are extremely small, with adults measuring 0.2 mm in length. Moreover, there are no males among these roundworms, making the new nematodes a rare hermaphrodite species. Nematodes are small worms that measure around 1 millimetre long and live freely in soil or water. They feed on bacteria, single-cell algae, fungi or other nematodes; they can also parasitize other animals or plants. But the most striking fact about them is their ability to adapt. Ref. Source 9j.
Parasitic nematodes that cause greatest agricultural damage abandoned sex. The nematode worms that cause the world's most devastating crop losses have given up on sexual reproduction and instead rely on their large, duplicated genomes to thrive in new environments, report scientists. Source 8g.