title: A new species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adelerina) from the snake Philodryas nattereri Steindachner (Squamata: Dipsadidae) in northeastern Brazil.
abstract: Based on both unique morphological characteristics of the gamont, distinct changes caused to the host erythrocyte and analysis of partial 18S rRNA gene sequences, a new parasite of the genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 is described from the snake Philodryas nattereri Steindachner (Squamata: Dipsadidae) in northeastern Brazil. The new species, Hepatozoon musa n. sp., is characterized by large and curved mature gamonts (18.9 ± 0.9 μm in length and 3.8 ± 0.3 μm in width) that considerably engorge infected host erythrocytes and displace the nucleus laterally, which become longer and thinner. Phylogenetic estimates indicate the new species is more closely related to the recently described Hepatozoon cuestensis O'Dwyer, Moço, Paduan, Spenassatto, Silva & Ribolla, 2013, from Brazilian rattlesnakes. These recent findings highlight the need for further studies of Hepatozoon to better determine the biodiversity of this common but poorly-studied parasite group.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC), Campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Bloco 905, Pici, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60.440-554, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diva M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Borges-Nojosa
authors.affiliation: Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC), Campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Bloco 905, Pici, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60.440-554, Brazil.
authors.forename: M Juliana
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Borges-Leite
authors.affiliation: CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, No 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal.
authors.forename: João P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Maia
authors.affiliation: Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC), Campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Bloco 905, Pici, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60.440-554, Brazil.
authors.forename: Djan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zanchi-Silva
authors.affiliation: Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia da Universidade Federal do Ceará (NUROF-UFC), Campus do Pici, Centro de Ciências, Bloco 905, Pici, Fortaleza, CE, CEP 60.440-554, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: da Rocha Braga
authors.affiliation: CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, No 7, 4485-661, Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal. james@cibio.up.pt.|Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, R. Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal. james@cibio.up.pt.
authors.forename: D James
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D017812:Colubridae / Q000469:parasitology; D016783:Eucoccidiida / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity