Notophthalmus Rafinesque 1820

Duszynski, Donald W., Bolek, Matthew G. & Upton, Steve J., 2007, Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) of amphibians of the world, Zootaxa 1667 (1667), pp. 1-77 : 57-58

Host genus Notophthalmus Rafinesque 1820

(3 spp.)

Eimeria longaspora Barrow and Hoy 1960 ( Fig. 46)

Type host: Notophthalmus viridescens (Rafinesque 1820) , Eastern newt.

Other hosts: None reported to date.

Type locality: NORTH AMERICA: USA, Michigan, Douglas Lake, University of Michigan Biological Station .

Geographic distribution: NORTH AMERICA: USA, Michigan.

Description of sporulated oocyst: Oocyst shape: spheroidal to subspheroidal; wall thickness: not given; wall characteristics: 1 smooth layer; L x W: 34.9 x 33.1 (30–40 x 26–38); L/W ratio: 1.1; M, PG: absent; OR: present; OR characteristics: a large, spheroidal granular structure that contains a large hyaline sphere with a mean diameter of 25. Distinctive features of oocyst: very large OR that seems to push the sporocysts to one end of oocyst (line drawing); also, as the oocyst continues to age (mature) for 2 wk or more under refrigeration it increases in size such that older oocysts were 45.9 x 43.8 (44.5–48 x 42–46).

Description of sporocyst and sporozoites: Sporocyst shape: lanceolate, pointed at both ends; L x W: 24.0 (23–26.5) x 3.8; L/W ratio 6.3; SB, SSB, PSB: all absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: composed of a few scattered refractile granules between SZ; SZ: also lanceolate (line drawing), 22.5 x 2; one end of each SZ projects past the other SZ into the opposite ends of the sporocyst; RB and N not visible. Distinctive features of sporocyst: the largest L/W ratio of any species from amphibians.

Prevalence: 13 of 144 (9%) over a 2 yr period.

Sporulation: Exogenous, all oocysts were passed unsporulated and 96% became fully sporulated within 48 h.

Prepatent and patent periods: Unknown.

Site of infection: Unknown, oocysts recovered from feces.

Endogenous stages: Unknown.

Pathology: Unknown.

Material deposited: None.

Remarks: The oocysts of this species are quite similar to those of E. pyrrhogaster ( Fig. 42) described from C. pyrrhogaster from Japan ( Matubayasi 1937), especially when you compare Fig. 4 in Barrow and Hoy (1960) with Fig. 12 in Matubayasi (1937). The striking thing about both drawings is that both show a massive OR (>25) that occupies ~2/3–3/4 the volume of the oocyst, thus compressing the lanceolate-spindle shaped sporocysts towards one end, giving the appearance they are attached to the OR. The size of older (and thus larger) oocysts of E. longaspora are quite similar to those of E. pyrrhogaster (45.9 x 43.8 vs. 42.8 x 39.9, respectively) as is the size of their ORs (25 vs. 28). However, their sporocysts are quite different in width, 24 x 3.8 (L/W 6.3) vs. 22.2 x 8.2 (L/W 2.7).

Eimeria megaresidua Barrow and Hoy 1960 ( Fig. 47)

Type host: Notophthalmus viridescens (Rafinesque 1820) , Eastern newt.

Other hosts: None reported to date.

Type locality: NORTH AMERICA: USA, Michigan, Douglas Lake, Sedge Point Pool, University of Michigan Biological Station .

Geographic distribution: NORTH AMERICA: USA, Michigan.

Description of sporulated oocyst: Oocyst shape: ellipsoidal; wall thickness: not given; wall characteristics: 1 smooth layer; L x W: 56.2 x 47.9 (55–58 x 45–49); L/W ratio: 1.2; M, PG: absent; OR: present; OR characteristics: a compact body of scattered granules, 19–30 wide, with a centric or an acentric hyaline sphere, 12–13 wide. Distinctive features of oocyst: OR increases during the first 2 wk outside the host.

Description of sporocyst and sporozoites: Sporocyst shape: lanceolate, pointed at both ends; L x W: 27.6 x 9.5 (18–34 x 8–10); L/W ratio 2.9; SB, SSB, PSB: all absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: composed of large granules that localize at one end of sporocyst; SZ: also lanceolate (line drawing), 18.9 x 4.7, with a centrally located N. Distinctive features of sporocyst: lanceolate shape.

Prevalence: 22 of 144 (15%) over a 2 yr period.

Sporulation: Exogenous; 65–70% of all oocysts were in various stages of sporulation when fecal samples were collected from the hosts and 95% became fully sporulated within 24 h.

Prepatent and patent periods: Unknown; however, Barrow and Hoy (1960) noted that all infections were recovered 4 to 7 days after newts were collected.

Site of infection: Unknown, oocysts recovered from feces.

Endogenous stages: Unknown.

Pathology: Unknown.

Material deposited: None.

Remarks: The oocysts of this species are similar to those of E. nipponensis ( Fig. 41) described from C. pyrrhogaster from Japan ( Matubayasi 1937), when their respective line drawings are compared ( Fig. 2, Barrow & Hoy 1960; Fig. 11, Matubayasi 1937). However, the oocysts of E. nipponensis are smaller than those of E. megaresidua (50 x 34.5, L/W=1.5, vs. 56 x 48, L/W=1.2).