A new coccidian, Isospora parnaitatiaiensis n. sp. (Apicomplexa, Eimeriidae), from the white-shouldered fire-eye Pyriglena leucoptera (Passeriformes, Thamnophilidae) from South America.

Abstract

A new coccidian species (Protozoa: Apicomplexa: Isospora) parasitizing the white-shouldered fire-eye Pyriglena leucoptera (Vieillot, 1818) is described in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia. This park is a protected area in southeastern Brazil with a high degree of vulnerability, representing a "conservation island" of biodiversity. Isospora parnaitatiaiensis n. sp. has oocysts that are ellipsoidal, 23.8 × 19.4 μm, with smooth, bilayered wall, ~1.1 μm thick. Micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent, but one or two polar granules are present. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 14.6 × 9.3 μm. The Stieda body is nipple- to knob-like and sub-Stieda body rounded to rectangular. Sporocyst residuum is present, usually as a cluster of numerous granules. Sporozoites are vermiform with two refractile bodies and a nucleus. This is the second isosporoid coccidian described from antbirds (Thamnophilidae).