Four new coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the Plateau zokor, Myospalax baileyi Thomas (Rodentia: Myospalacinae), a subterranean rodent from Haibei area, Qinghai Province, China.

ABSTRACT

Thirty-eight faecal samples from the Plateau zokor, Myospalax baileyi Thomas, collected in the Haibei Area, Qinghai Province, China, were examined for the presence of coccidia (Apicomplexa Eimeriidae). Seventeen of 38 faecal samples (44.7%) were found to contain coccidian oöcysts representing four new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875, and four of 17 (23.5%) infected zokors were concurrently infected with two or three of these eimerian species. The sporulated oöcysts of Eimeria myospalacensis n. sp. are ovoidal, 9.5-17.0 × 8.0-13.0 (mean 13.0 × 10.4) µm; a polar granule is present, oöcyst residuum is absent; sporocysts are ovoidal, 4.5-7.5 × 3.0-5.0 (mean 6.3 × 4.2) µm and have both a Stieda body and residuum. Oöcysts of Eimeria fani n. sp. are ellipsoidal to cylindroidal, 12.5-16.0 × 8.0-11.0 (mean 14.6 × 9.9) µm; a polar granule is present, but micropyle and residuum are lacking; sporocysts are ovoidal, 4.5-7.5 × 3.0-5.3 (mean 6.7 × 4.4) µm; a residuum and a Steida body are present. Oöcysts of Eimeria baileyii n. sp. are ellipsoidal, 15.0-23.0 × 12.0-18.0 (mean 18.2 × 13.7) µm; a polar granule is present but oöcyst residuum is absent; sporocysts are ovoidal, 8.0-11.0 × 5.0-7.0 (mean 9.5 × 5.9) µm and have both a Stieda body and residuum. Oöcysts of Eimeria menyuanensis n. sp. are ovoidal, 12.5-21.0 × 11.0-18.0 (mean 17.1 × 14.6) µm, with a distinct micropyle c.2.5 µm wide; a polar granule is present but a residuum is absent; sporocysts are ovoidal, 8.0-12.0 × 5.0-7.0 (mean 10.2 × 6.4) µm, and have both a Stieda body and residuum.