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A new caryosporan (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from flat-headed snake, Tantilla gracilis (Reptilia: Ophidia: Colubridae), from McCurtain County, Oklahoma, USA

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Abstract

The flat-headed snake, Tantilla gracilis Baird and Girard is a small reptile belonging to the family Colubridae. Feces from a single T. gracilis from McCurtain County, Oklahoma, USA, was collected and examined for coccidia; it was found to be passing a new species of Caryospora. Oöcysts of Caryospora sargentae n. sp. are spheroidal to typically subspheroidal with a moderately-pitted bi-layered wall, measure (L × W) 20.7 × 19.2 µm, and have a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.1; a micropyle and oöcyst residuum were absent but one to several small, irregular to spheroidal masses of non-refractile debris within the oocyst was present as well as a polar granule attached to the inner oöcyst wall. Sporocysts are ovoidal and measure 15.0 × 11.0 µm, L/W 1.4; a nipple-like Stieda body is present as well as a distinct rounded sub-Stieda body. The sporocyst residuum is composed of a large, dense, irregular mass of various sized granules located between and often obscuring the sporozoites. This is the third coccidian described from the flat-headed snake. In addition, we include some data on the endogenous development of the coccidian.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. Scott L. Gardner and Gabor Racz (HWML) for expert curatorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Mathematics Division, Eastern Oklahoma State College, Idabel, OK, 74745, USA

    Chris T. McAllister

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, 85308, USA

    John A. Hnida

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University (Emeritus), State University, Jonesboro, AR, 72467, USA

    Stanley E. Trauth

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  1. Chris T. McAllister
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  2. John A. Hnida
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  3. Stanley E. Trauth
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Correspondence to Chris T. McAllister.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation provided Scientific Collecting Permit no. 1551646 to CTM.

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The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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This article was registered in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) as urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6160AF83-B373-4D19-885A-47BC984178AD.

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McAllister, C.T., Hnida, J.A. & Trauth, S.E. A new caryosporan (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from flat-headed snake, Tantilla gracilis (Reptilia: Ophidia: Colubridae), from McCurtain County, Oklahoma, USA. Syst Parasitol 99, 309–315 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-022-10028-6

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