Gordioidea is an order (sometimes placed at superfamily level) of parasitic horsehair worms. Its taxonomy remains uncertain, but appears to be contained in the monotypic class Gordioida and contains about 320 known species.
Biology Gordioidean adults are free-living in freshwater or semi-terrestrial habitats and larvae parasitise insects, primarily Orthopterans. Unlike Nectonematoideans, which are marine, gordioideans lack lateral rows of setae and have a single, ventral epidermal cord and their blastocoel is filled with mesenchyme in young worms but become open when older.Pechenik (2010) Biology of the Invertebrates, p. 457.
Families and genera The Integrated Taxonomic Information System lists the following genera in two families: Chordodidae Auth. May, 1919; selected genera: Subfamily Chordodinae Heinze, 1935
Chordodes Creplin, 1847 Dacochordodes Capuse, 1965 Euchordodes Heinze, 1937 Neochordodes Carvalho, 1942 Pantachordodes Heinze, 1954 Spinochordodes Kirjanova, 1950 Subfamily Paragordiinae
Paragordius Camerano, 1897 incertae sedis Gordionus Müller, 1927 Parachordodes Camerano, 1897 Paragordionus Heinze, 1935 Semigordionus Heinze, 1952
Gordiidae Auth. May, 1919 Acutogordius Heinze, 1952 Gordius Linnaeus, 1758
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