UC Berkeley

We document morphological descriptions for 3 newly described Eimeria spp. That infect springbok ntidorcas marsupialis. Eimeria antidorcasi n. Sp. oocysts are ovoid, with average size n = 346 26.2 × 18.8 19.2-33.5 × 13.1-26.5 μm, a length/width ratio of 1.4 .2-2.0, a micropyle, and a polar granule sometimes present. Sporocysts are ovoid n = 336, 11.3 × 7.3 6.0-14.6 × 5.2-9.8 μm, with a length/width ratio of 1.5 1.1-2.0, a Stieda body, a prominent, ovoid sporocyst residuum, and one refractile body per sporozoite. Eimeria versfeldi n. Sp. oocysts are ellipsoid n = 136, 38.9 × 26.6 27.8-48.2 × 21.2-31.0 μm, with a length/width ratio of 1.5 1.2-2.0, a micropyle cap with sub-micropylar material, and 2-4 polar granules. Sporocysts are elongate-ovoid n = 132, 18.3 × 9.2 13.2-22.8 × 6.8-11.2 μm, with a length/width ratio of 2.0 1.3-2.5, a Stieda body, a small sporocyst residuum present, and an evident nucleus and two refractile bodies per sporozoite. Eimeria gasawayi n. Sp. oocysts are subspheroid n = 87, 14.8 × 13.6 11.5-20.0 × 11.1-18.2 μm, with a length/width ratio of 1.1 1.0-1.2 and no micropyle. Sporocysts are elongate-ovoid n = 82, 9.0 × 4.6 5.5-12.5 × 3.6-6.4 μm, with a length/width ratio of 2.0 1.3-2.4, a small Stieda body, and an irregularly shaped sporocyst residuum present. These are the first Eimeria spp. described from springbok.