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Redescription of Eimeria megabubonis Upton, Campbell, Weigel & McKown, 1990 (Apicomplexa: Emeriidae) from the great horned owl Bubo virginianus (Gmelin)

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Abstract

While nine nominal species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 have been described from strigiform birds, molecular sequence data are not available for any of these species. In the present study, oöcysts of a coccidian were isolated by faecal flotation from the lower intestinal contents of an opportunistically collected, recently deceased great horned owl Bubo virginianus (Gmelin), sporulated in potassium dichromate, and subjected to morphological and molecular characterisation. Comparisons of morphological data with previous accounts of Eimeria spp. from owls were consistent with Eimeria megabubonis Upton, Campbell, Weigel & McKown, 1990. Novel molecular data for the 18S ribosomal RNA gene region and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene are provided. The results of phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequence data from these regions are presented and implications for the evolutionary history of Eimeria are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Derek Marshall of Mississippi State University, Donald Duszynski of the University of New Mexico, and Chris McAllister of Eastern Oklahoma State College for assistance with acquiring primary sources. The authors also acknowledge Wes Baumgartner for histological examination of host tissues.

Funding

This work was supported by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University and the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University.

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  1. Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Ethan T. Woodyard & T. Graham Rosser

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Aquaculture, College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Scott A. Rush

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Correspondence to T. Graham Rosser.

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Woodyard, E.T., Rush, S.A. & Rosser, T.G. Redescription of Eimeria megabubonis Upton, Campbell, Weigel & McKown, 1990 (Apicomplexa: Emeriidae) from the great horned owl Bubo virginianus (Gmelin). Syst Parasitol 96, 585–594 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-019-09867-7

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