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Hi, this is something I really wonder about...
Find it in one of my Eppendorf tubes, where I've put some collembolas, mites and Enchytraeid annelids in alcohol. The mentioned animals were found on leaf litter. I do not remember if I found these separate, also on leaf litter, and thought them for regulary worms. Chance there is, that these are somekind of parasites that crawled out from one of the collected animals. Or are these things some body-parts of some insect?
I think annelida, platyhelminthes and nematoda can be excluded. I found some resembling images of the spiny headed worm Macracanthorhynchus, a parasite of insects...
Any ideas?

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What size is this? And can you show a photo of the other end?

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Hi! Other end is here:
The thing was about 2,5 mm, the other one 2 mm long and very thin.

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And what about Nematomorpha? Is it possible?

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I think you mentioned the owner allready in your first message: Collembola. Pogonognathella longicornis p.e. is often abundant in leaflitter.

To be sure you need to find a specimen carrying two remaining parts of 'the thing', to compose an antenna of 4 parts.

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Could be I'll make photos of other collembolas' antennas, to be sure.

Nematomorpha seems unlikely to me, because the larva's develope in aquaitic insects, and larva's are shorter and do not look like this one.

Walter

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And Nematomorpha adults don't have bristles or obvious segments.