''Eophasma'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of fossil
nematodes from the
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
of
Osteno
Claino con Osteno ( Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about north of Como. It is a small ''comune'' on Lake Lugano, composed of a series of sm ...
in
Lombardy,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
It has only one species, ''Eophasma jurasicum''.
In 2011, the genus was placed in the new family Eophasmidae
Poinar, 2011, which is itself placed in the order
Desmoscolecida
Desmoscolecida is an order of marine nematodes. In a worm of this order, the body tapers towards each end and is marked by a number of well-defined ridges. Their number varies in the different species. The head bears four movable setae, and some ...
, superfamily Desmoscolecoidea.
References
†Eophasma
Prehistoric protostome genera
Jurassic invertebrates
Fossils of Italy
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