title: A new species of Isospora Schneider, 1881 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Morafka's desert tortoise Gopherus morafkai (Testudines: Testudinidae).
abstract: Isospora gopheri n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) is described from 5 of 28 (18%) Morafka's desert tortoise Gopherus morafkai Murphy, Berry, Edwards, Leviton, Lathrop & Readle, housed by the Phoenix Herpetological Society, Maricopa County, Arizona, USA. Sporulated oöcysts of this new species were spheroidal to subspheroidal, 20-27 × 19-27 (23.0 × 21.7) µm, with a smooth, bi-layered wall and 1-3 polar granules; an oöcyst residuum was absent. Sporocysts were elongate-ovoidal to ellipsoidal, 13-18 × 9-12 (15.9 × 10.2) µm, with a Stieda body, sub-Stieda body and sporocyst residuum; sporozoites were banana-shaped with an ellipsoidal posterior refractile body and a spheroidal anterior refractile body. This is both the first coccidian to be described from this host species and only the second reported from the host genus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ, 85308, USA. jhnida@midwestern.edu.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hnida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001130:Arizona; D058507:Host Specificity; D007549:Isospora / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014426:Turtles / Q000469:parasitology*