Eimeria akodonensis, Miglionico & Viana & Barbosa & Mota & Neto & Frazão-Teixeira & Sergio, 2018

Miglionico, Marcos Tobias de Santana, Viana, Lúcio André, Barbosa, Helene Santos, Mota, Ester Maria, Neto, Sócrates Fraga da Costa, Frazão-Teixeira, Edwards & Sergio, Paulo, 2018, A new species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 from the Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with notes on its endogenous development in the montane grass mouse, Akodon montensis Thomas, 1913 (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae), Parasitology Research (371) 117 (2), pp. 371-376 : 373-374

Eimeria akodonensis n. sp.

Type host: Akodon montensis Thomas, 1913 ( Rodentia : Sigmodontinae ), Symbiotype host ( Frey et al. 1992), skin and skeleton, deposited in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro (adult males, MNRJ nos. 83768, 83774, 83776, 83777). Type-locality: Serra dos Órgãos National Park in Petrópolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22° 27′ 49″ S, 43° 05′ 14.09″ W).

Type-material: The oocysts were preserved in 70% ethanol, based on Duszynski and Gardner (1991). The samples were deposited in the Parasite Collection of the Department of Animal Parasitology (http://r1.ufrrj.br/lcc) at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Phototypes and line drawings were deposited together with the specimens. The catalog number is P-77/2017.

Sporulation time: Unknown.

Site of infection: Small intestine.

Prevalence: 4 of 53 (7.5%).

Etymology: The specific epithet is derived from the name of the host genus.\

Exogenous stage

Description (Figs. 1–3 and 4)

Sporulated oocyst

Oocyst shape (n = 126) is ellipsoidal to subspherical, wall bi-layered, 1.5 μm (1.3–1.6) thick, outer layer rough. Oocyst length is 25.3 μm (21.0–28.0), with a width of 20.2 μm (17.0– 22.0) and length/width (L/W) ratio of 1.3 μm (1.2–1.4). Polar granule is present, with oocyst residuum as a large spherical to subspherical globule.

Sporocyst

Sporocyst shape (n = 126)is ellipsoidal with length of 11.8 μm (9.3–14.4), width of 7.9 μm (6.7–9.3), and (L/W) ratio of 1.5 μm (1.4–1.7). Sporocysts with nipple-like Stieda body and sub-Stieda body are absent. A sporocyst residuum formed by several globules, usually along the sporocyst wall.

Endogenous stages

Description (Fig. 5–12)

The histological analysis revealed the endogenous development of the parasite in the jejunum portion of the small intestine. The infected cells of the lamina propria contained only parasites in the gametogenic phase, with the immature microgametocytes being enveloped by the parasitophorous vacuole, and having a rounded shape, approximately 10.9 μm (5.4–16.8) in length and 11.8 μm (5.5–17.3) in width (Fig. 5). Free immature micro-gametocytes and microgametes were also observed (Figs. 6–7), as were macrogametes at different stages of development, including the formation of the oocyst wall from the granules, approximately 20.9 μm (15.9– 25.7) in length and 16.2 μm (12.6–19.9) in width, subspherical to ellipsoidal in shape (Figs.8–10). Mature and immature oocysts were also observed (Figs. 11–12).