Hepatozoon apri n. sp. (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) from the Japanese wild boar Sus scrofa leucomystax (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla).

Hepatozoon apri n. sp. is described from Japanese wild boars Sus scrofa leucomystax in Japan. The gamonts in the peripheral blood leukocytes were 11.6 ± 1.4 × 6.7 ± 1.3 µm in size. The meronts in the muscle tissues were 35.0-47.5 µm in length and 26.5-30 µm in width. A high rate (53.0%) of infection was found by nested PCR using muscle specimens from 181 wild boars captured in Tokushima, Japan. A phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rRNA gene sequences revealed that H. apri n. sp. detected in wild boars is closely related to Hepatozoon spp. isolated from carnivores. This is the first description of a species belonging to the genus Hepatozoon detected in ungulates.