Abstract
Two new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875, from emerald tree skinks, Lamprolepis smaragdina (Lesson) are described from specimens collected in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Philippines. Oöcysts of Eimeria nuiailan n. sp. from the only L. smaragdina from PNG are ovoidal, with a smooth, colourless, bi-layered wall, measure 23.7 × 19.1 μm, and have a length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.3; both micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but a fragmented polar granule is present. Sporocysts are ovoidal to ellipsoidal, 11.9 × 7.0 μm, L/W 1.7, and the wall is composed of two valves joined by a longitudinal suture; neither Stieda nor sub-Stieda bodies are present; a sporocyst residuum is present as a compact mass of granules. Sporozoites are elongate, 14.6 × 2.6 μm, and contain anterior and posterior refractile bodies with a nucleus between them. Oöcysts of Eimeria auffenbergi n. sp. from L. smaragdina collected in the Philippines are ovoidal, with a smooth, colourless, bi-layered wall, measure 19.9 × 15.8 μm, L/W 1.3; both micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, but one to four polar granules are present. Sporocysts are ovoidal to ellipsoidal, 10.3 × 5.8 μm, L/W 1.8, and the wall is composed of two valves joined by a longitudinal suture; neither Stieda nor sub-Stieda bodies are present; a sporocyst residuum is composed of dispersed granules.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the late Steve J. Upton (Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA) for technical assistance, and Scott L. Gardner (Manter Parasite Collection, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA) for parasitological training of RNF. Further appreciation is extended to Patricia A. Pilitt (USNPC) for expert curatorial assistance. The PNG Department of Environment and Conservation and the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) of the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) facilitated the exportation of lizard and parasite specimens. This work was funded in part by IBN 9311139 and DEB 1146033 to CCA, by the National Science Foundation BS&I grant DEB 0743491 to R. M. Brown, SEB, D. H. Clayton, and R. G. Moyle, and by grants from the National Center for Research Resources (P20RR016474) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P20GM103432) from the National Institutes of Health to RSS. SEB also thanks V. Tkach and R.M. Brown for assistance in the field. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government and the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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McAllister, C.T., Seville, R.S., Duszynski, D.W. et al. Two new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from emerald tree skinks, Lamprolepis smaragdina (Lesson) (Sauria: Scincidae) from Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Syst Parasitol 86, 165–171 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-013-9442-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-013-9442-7