Nematode ? on Arisarum

[Lawrence]

I have found these small 10-15mm opaque nematodes in the surface compost of an Arisarum proboscideum that hasn't quite emerged as yet. Can anyone identify please?
Ps I must apologise for poor quality of photo, it is difficult to focus on such a small gremlin just with an iPhone

[Maggi Young]

Are they alive and  moving? They look a bit more  vegetable than animal to me, Lawrence.

[Lawrence]

Yes Maggi they are alive and moving quite quickly, I'm sure the poor photograph doesn't help, I will see if I can find more and take a better photograph

[Tristan_He]

I don't think these are nematodes Lawrence. Most species are much smaller than this.

A likely candidate is enchytraeid worms, which are small earthworm relatives favouring composts with high organic matter. See here for example:


If you have a magnifying glass or microscope you can confirm this - enchytraeids are anelids so are segmented, whereas nematodes are unsegmented. They also move differently as a result (see Wikipedia articles).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematode
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annelid

Best, Tristan

[Lawrence]

Thanks Tristan that was very helpful and you are correct they look very similar