title: Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) saloboense n. sp. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) parasite of Monodelphis emiliae (Marsupiala: Didelphidae) from Amazonian Brazil.
abstract: Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) soloboense n. sp., is described in the Brazilian opossum Monodelphis emiliae (Thomas, 1912) from primary forest in the Salobo area of the Serra dos Carajás (6 degrees S, 50 degrees 18' W) Pará State, North Brazil. Two morphologically different trypomastigotes were noted. Slender forms, regarded as immature parasites, have a poorly developed undulating membrane adhering closely to the body: large, broad forms with a well developed membrane are considered to be the mature trypomastigotes and have a mean total length of 71.2 microm (62.4-76.2) and a width of 6.1 (5.0-8.0). Infections studied in two opossums were of very low parasitaemia. The large size of T. (M.) saloboense readily distinguishes it from the two previously described members of the subgenus Megatrypanum of neotropical marsupials, T. (M.) freitasi Régo et al., 1957 of Didelphis ozarae and D. marsupialis, and T. (M.) samueli Mello, 1977 of Monodelphis domesticus, which measure only 49.0-51.5 microm and 42.4 microm respectively. No infections were obtained in hamsters inoculated with triturated liver and spleen from one infected M. emiliae, or in laboratory mice inoculated with epimastigotes from a blood-agar culture. No division stages could be detected in the internal organs or the peripheral blood.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Almirante Barroso 492, 66090-000 Belém, Pará, Brazil. ralphlainson@iec.pa.gov.br
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lainson
authors.forename: F M M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Franco
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D048309:Monodelphis / Q000469:parasitology*; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000662:veterinary; D010802:Phylogeny; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014352:Trypanosomiasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*