Taricha Gray 1850

Duszynski, Donald W., Bolek, Matthew G. & Upton, Steve J., 2007, Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) of amphibians of the world, Zootaxa 1667 (1667), pp. 1-77 : 60

Host genus Taricha Gray 1850

(3 spp.)

Eimeria tarichae Levine 1980 ( Fig. 50).

Synonym: Eimeria grobbeni of Doran 1953.

Type host: Taricha torosa (Rathke 1833) , California newt .

Other hosts: None reported to date.

Type locality: NORTH AMERICA: USA, California, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino Mountains, Fish Canyon .

Geographic distribution: NORTH AMERICA: USA, California.

Description of sporulated oocyst: Oocyst shape: subspheroidal to slightly ellipsoidal; wall thickness: not given; wall characteristics: 1 smooth layer; L x W: 11–13 x 10–12; L/W ratio: unknown; M, OR, PG: all absent. Distinctive features of oocyst: none.

Description of sporocyst and sporozoites: Sporocyst shape: ovoidal, slightly pointed at one end; L x W: not given; L/W ratio unknown; SB, SSB, PSB: all absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: a compact mass of fine and coarse granules that appear membrane-bound, usually found in more rounded end of sporocyst; SZ: shorter than length of sporocyst, generally sausage-shaped, without obvious RB or N (line drawing). Distinctive features of sporocyst: none.

Prevalence: 3 of 28 (11%).

Sporulation: Unknown.

Prepatent and patent periods: Unknown.

Site of infection: Unknown, oocysts recovered from feces.

Endogenous stages: Unknown.

Pathology: Unknown.

Material deposited: None.

Remarks: Doran (1953) found this eimerian in the feces of 3 of 28 California newts, T. torosa . He called it E. grobbeni , described from the Alpine salamander, S. atra ( Rudovsky 1925) , but he admitted that the oocysts from California newts may belong to a new species. Levine (1980) pointed out that the form observed by Doran (1953) differed from that species ( E. grobbeni ) in lacking a micropyle and in host genus and considered it a separate species which he named E. trichae .