Caenorhabditis elegans () is a free-living (not
parasitic), transparent
nematode (roundworm), about 1 mm in length, that lives in temperate soil environments. The name is a blend of Greek (
caeno- - recent,
rhabditis - rod-like) and Latin (
elegans - elegant). In 1900,
Maupas initially named it
Rhabditides elegans, Osche placed it in the
subgenus Caenorhabditis in 1952, and in 1955, Dougherty raised it to the status of
genus.