Leptodactylus Fitzinger 1826

Duszynski, Donald W., Bolek, Matthew G. & Upton, Steve J., 2007, Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) of amphibians of the world, Zootaxa 1667 (1667), pp. 1-77 : 35-36

Host genus Leptodactylus Fitzinger 1826

(82 spp.)

Eimeria leptodactyli Carini 1931a , b, c ( Fig. 20)

Type host: Leptodactylus ocellatus (L. 1758), Criolla frog.

Other hosts: None reported to date.

Type locality: SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil: outskirts of São Paulo .

Geographic distribution: SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil: outskirts of São Paulo.

Description of sporulated oocyst: Oocyst shape: ovoidal; number of walls: 1; wall thickness: “thin;” wall characteristics: colorless; L x W: 23 x 17; M and PG: absent (line drawing); OR: present, often arranged in a rosette-like pattern. Distinctive features of oocyst: none.

Description of sporocyst and sporozoites: Sporocyst shape: ellipsoidal; L x W: 9 x 6.5; SB: present; SSB, PSB: both absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: scanty. Distinctive features of sporocyst: none.

Prevalence: Not given.

Sporulation: Exogenous.

Prepatent and patent periods: Unknown.

Site of infection: Unknown.

Endogenous stages: Unknown.

Pathology: Unknown.

Materials deposited: None.

Remarks: About half of the known eimerians from anura have ovoidal sporulated oocysts. Of these, five other species are reported to possess an OR: E. cyanophlyctis from Asia ( Fig. 8), E. kermiti from North America ( Fig. 24), E. prevoti ( Fig. 25) and E. ranae ( Fig. 29) from Europe, and E. terraepokotorum from Africa ( Fig. 9). However, sporulated oocysts of E. leptodactyli are larger than oocysts of E. cyanophlyctis , E. terraepokorum , E. prevoti and E. ranae , and smaller than oocysts of E. kermiti . Additionally this is the only Eimeria species known from a Leptodactylus species (additionally see Carini 1931a, b, c; Walton 1945). Based on these differences as well as differences in hosts and geographic location, we consider this species from Leptodactylus ocellatus as distinct.