A new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the dusky rice rat Melanomys caliginosus (Tomes) (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Costa Rica.
We collected faecal samples from 24 dusky rice rats, Melanomys caliginosus (Tomes) (Rodentia: Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae), in a Biological Reserve in Costa Rica, and found three (12.5%) to be infected with a species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875, which we describe here as new. Sporulated oöcysts of Eimeria caliginosa n. sp. are almost spheroidal and measure 16-21 × 17-20 (mean 19.6 × 18.2) μm; micropyle, oöcyst residuum and polar granule are absent. Sporocysts are ovoidal, 9-13 × 6-8 (mean 11.2 × 6.7) μm, with small Stieda and sub-Stieda bodies present, but a para-Stieda body is absent; the sporocyst residuum is a compact mass of c.11-15 granules, c.5 μm wide. Sporozoites are crescent-shaped, 5-8 × 2-3 (mean 6.8 × 2.4) μm. This is the third species of Eimeria described from the genus Melanomys Thomas.
Research Department, Universidad de Ciencias Médicas (UCIMED), San José, Costa Rica.
Misael
M
Chinchilla
Idalia
I
Valerio
Ronald
R
Sánchez
Antonieta
A
González
Donald W
DW
Duszynski
D000818:Animals; D003364:Costa Rica; D004539:Eimeria / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology*; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D033661:Oocysts / Q000166:cytology; D016205:Sigmodontinae / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000166:cytology