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A new species of Choleoeimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) parasitic in the rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Egypt

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt

    Heba M. Abdel-Haleem

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  1. Heba M. Abdel-Haleem
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Correspondence to Heba M. Abdel-Haleem.

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Abdel-Haleem, H.M. A new species of Choleoeimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) parasitic in the rough-tailed gecko Cyrtopodion scabrum (Sauria: Gekkonidae) in Egypt. Parasitol Res 114, 1153–1157 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4294-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4294-x

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