A New Eimerian Species (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the Blue-Fronted Amazon Parrot Amazona aestiva L. (Aves: Psittacidae) In Brazil

• Published in: The Journal of parasitology Vol. 97; no. 6; pp. 1140 - 1141
• Main Authors: Hofstatter, P. G, Guaraldo, A. M. A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 810 East 10th Street, Lawrence, Kansas 66044 American Society of Parasitologists 01.12.2011; Allen Press Inc
• Subjects: Amazona - parasitology; Amazona aestiva; Animals; Apicomplexa; Aqueous solutions; Aves; Biological and medical sciences; Bird Diseases - parasitology; Birds; Brazil; Brood parasitism; Coccidiosis - parasitology; Coccidiosis - veterinary; Eimeria; Eimeria - classification; Eimeria - isolation & purification; Eimeria - ultrastructure; Eimeriidae; Feces; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Invertebrates; New species; Oocysts; Oocysts - ultrastructure; Parasites; Parasitology; Parrots; Potassium; Protozoa; Psittacidae; Residuums; Spores, Protozoan - ultrastructure; Sporozoites; SYSTEMATICS-PHYLOGENETICS; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Zoos; South America; Brazil; America; Protozoa; Vertebrata; Apicomplexa; Taxonomy; Diagnosis (taxonomy); Parasite; New species; Aves
• ISSN: 0022-3395; 1937-2345
• DOI: 10.1645/GE-2797.1

The Neotropical psittacine species Amazona aestiva, commonly known as the blue-fronted Amazon, is one of the most common and best-known psittacine birds kept as a pet worldwide. However, very little is known about the diseases or parasites of these birds. In this study, we describe a new species, Eimeria aestivae, associated with these parrots. The new species is characterized by: ovoid smooth oocysts (n  =  60), 36.8 (33.2–41.5) × 23.7 (21.7–25.7) µm, length/width ratio  =  1.55; polar granule present; ellipsoidal sporocysts (n  =  25), 19.8 (17.5–21.6) × 9.3 (8.3–9.9) µm; Stieda, sub-Stieda body, and sporocyst residuum present. Sporozoites (n  =  20), 2 per sporocyst, elongate and curved, 17.6 (15.8–19.2) × 3.8 (3.2–4.8) µm; each with 2 refractile bodies. The oocysts of the other 2 eimerian species described for Amazona are larger than those of the presented species, but they all seem to be closely related because of some similarities among them.