Summary Stylet (feeding) dimorphism of Bursaphelenchus sinensis was experimentally confirmed during a recent study and its predatory form was considered similar in morphology to species of Berntsenus. Therefore, available type and voucher materials for members of Berntsenus were examined for their morphology and compared with Bursaphelenchus sinensis and B. aberrans, another related species showing feeding dimorphism. The typological characters of their co-habiting aphelenchoidid species were also examined. The type materials of Berntsenus spp. have characteristic squared lips, a thick stylet, large median bulb and short and stout pharyngeal glands; males, when present, have a P1 papilla and a tape-like bursa, suggesting that they are the predatory form of improperly classified Bursaphelenchus species. In addition, Aphelenchoides pityokteini and Ektaphelenchus tenuidens (= Aphelenchoides tenuidens), co-occurring with their respective host bark beetle isolates of Berntsenus, were typologically confirmed to belong to the aberrans-group of Bursaphelenchus and considered to be conspecific to each co-habiting Berntsenus species. Herein, Berntsenus is synonymised with Bursaphelenchus, and Bursaphelenchus brachycephalus n. comb. (= Berntsenus brachycephalus and E. tenuidens) and Bursaphelenchus pityokteini n. comb. (= A. pityokteini and Berntsenus labiosus) are proposed.