title: A new species of Choleoeimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) parasitic in the rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Egypt.
abstract: Coprological examination of 15 samples of the rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum collected from Abu Rawash, Giza, Egypt, revealed that 20 % (3/15) were passing oocysts of a new Choleoeimeria species. Oocysts of Choleoeimeria scabrumi n. sp. are ellipsoidal with a smooth, yellow to orange, bilayered smooth wall, measure 26 × 13 μm, and have a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.8. Polar granule, micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal and 8 × 5 μm and the sporocyst wall has two plates joined by a longitudinal suture. Stieda, substieda and parastieda bodies are absent. The endogenous development is confined to the gallbladder epithelium. Mature meronts are subspheroidal and 11-13 × 8-10 μm. Macrogamonts are mostly spheroidal and 12-14 μm wide, with a prominent nucleus in the centre. Microgamonts are irregular in shape, 9-11 × 5-7 μm. Based on the morphological features of the oocysts and the endogenous development in the gallbladder epithelium, we identified this biliary coccidium to be a new species in the genus Choleoeimeria.
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt, hm_haleem12@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Heba M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Abdel-Haleem
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D021743:Eimeriidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000469:parasitology; D008116:Lizards / Q000469:parasitology*; D033661:Oocysts