INTRODUCTION It has been shown that the pleroceroid larvae of the bird cestode Schistocephalus solidus matures rapidly when cultured aseptically in suitable media at 40 C. provided pH and oxygen tension are controlled (Smyth, 1946, 1950). This temperature of 40° C. represents the average body temperature of birds, in the gut of which pleroceroids normally develop (Hopkins & Smyth, 1952). It is ...

Twelve adult domestic pigeons from Sebele, Gaborone, Botswana, were examined for the presence of helminth parasites. The cestode genus Raillietina and two species of nematodes, Dispharynx spiralis and Ascaridia columbae were recovered. Most pigeons (75 %) were infected with Raillietina spp. often in concurrence with A. columbae.

While parasites and immunity are widely believed to play important roles in the evolution of male ornaments, their potential influence on systems where male weaponry is the object of sexual selection is poorly understood. We experimentally infect larval broad-horned flour beetles with a tapeworm and study the consequent effects on: 1) adult male morphology 2) male-male contests for mating oppor...

We describe patterns of variation in the body size of tapeworms (Cestoda) parasitizing rodents and shrews. Tapeworms display considerable interspecific variation in body size. Tapeworms also occur only in certain, species-specific parts of intestine. Empirical data on tapeworms suggest that these two phenomena are related: the biggest tapeworm species tend to occur in midgut. We put forward a h...