Unilobus gonocephali, Modak & Adhikari & Basu & Haldar, 2012

Modak, Biplob Kr, Adhikari, Ranatosh Kr, Basu, Saugata & Haldar, Durga P., 2012, Two New Species of Unilobus Théodoridès, Desportes and Jolivet, 1984 (Apicomplexa: Conoidasida) Parasitizing Tenebrionid Beetles along with the Remarks on the Genus and Its Family Status, Acta Protozoologica 51 (2), pp. 179-186 : 180

Unilobus gonocephali n. sp.

Trophozoite: Typical trophozoite stage is not found. Early stages are found to attach with the epithelial cells.

Gamont ( Figs 1–3 ): Most of them are biassociative. A few solitary forms are also seen. The solitary gamonts are very narrowly oblong. Its total length varies from 192 to 467 µm. Protomerite is hemispherical or very broadly elliptoidal. In some forms it is somewhat oblong with a concavity at its tip ( Fig. 3 ). A distinct septum separates protomerite from the deutomerite. It is also very narrowly oblong with more or less uniform width and rounded posterior extremity. The nucleus is mostly orbicular and situated generally at the posterior end of the deutomerite. Granulation of deutomerite is uniform but denser than protomerite.

Association ( Figs 4–6 ): Late association, majority of the gamonts remain in biassociative and association is always caudo-frontal. The primite and the satellite are morphologically different. The protomerite of primite is hemispherical but the protomerite of satellite is oblong with a concavity or sucker like structure at its tip. This results in a firm attachment.

Gametocyst and oocyst (= spore) ( Figs 7–9 ): Gametocysts are milky-white, more or less orbicular or spherical, isogamous ( Fig. 7 ) and measure 365 to 490 µm in diameter (410 ± 22.1, 30). The cyst dehisces by 7 to 9 long sporoducts after 72 hours of incubation inside the moist chamber ( Fig. 8 ). The ducts are swollen at their bases, 40–60 µm in measure (51 ± 2.1, 30) and its length varies from 140 to 175 µm (161 ± 7.2, 30). Ectocyst is not observed. The oocysts (= spores) are released in long chains ( Fig. 9 ), shallowly or very shallowly dolioform. Each oocyst (= spore) is provid- ed with a pair of small knob like structure at their two poles and measures 8.5–8.4 × 7.3–7.1 µm (8.3 × 7.2 ±

Figures

Figs 1–9. Camera lucida drawings of different stages of Unilobus gonocephali n. sp. 1–3 – mature gamonts of different shapes and sizes; 4–6 – associations of different shapes and sizes; 7 – gametocyst; 8 – dehiscence of gametocyst with eight sporoducts; 9 – dolioform oocysts (= spores) in chain.