Abstract
This article presents an attempt to analyze the functional purpose of the tail spike and dorsal spine of protostrongylid species. The actual material was obtained from the feces of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) (the species Elaphostrongylus rangiferi was verified genetically), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and dapple deer (C. nippon) by the Vajda method and has been studied from 2018 to the present day by means of lightfield and dark-field light microscopy, and phase-contrast and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the tail spike and dorsal spine 1) do not surpass the rest of the cuticle in their density (they are squashed by pressure of the cover slide, shriveled in preparation for scanning electron microscopy, and look uniform in relation to the body of the larva in polarized light); 2) have no openings in the apical areas. On this basis, the versions about the role of spines in episodes of intra- or interspecific competition and defensive function were rejected. The assumptions about the deposition (of substances or ultramicroscopic objects) and about fixation (linking) remain possible. The reliable purpose of the tail spike and dorsal spine of protostrongylid species larvae remains unknown. The further study of a connection between these larvae and their intermediate hosts, gastropods, seems promising.
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