Diplolaimelloides woaabi

Diplolaimelloides woaabi
Illustration of male and female D. woaabi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Nematoda
Class: Chromadorea
Order: Monhysterida
Family: Monhysteridae
Genus: Diplolaimelloides
Species:
D. woaabi
Binomial name
Diplolaimelloides woaabi
(Jung, 2025)

Diplolaimelloides woaabi is a species of free-living, halophilic nematode within the family Monhysteridae. Described in 2025, it is the first nematode species identified as endemic to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah. As an extremophile, it is one of only three animal taxa known to inhabit the lake's hypersaline waters, alongside brine shrimp (Artemia) and brine flies (Ephydra). The species epithet is derived from "wo'aabi", the Shoshone word for "worm", chosen in consultation with and in honor of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.