n. sp. andcoinfection in(Aves: Cariamiformes): first mitochondrial genome analysis and morphological description of a leucocytozoid in Brazil.

Abstract

The distribution of avian haemosporidians of the genusin the Neotropics remains poorly understood. Recent studies confirmed their presence in the region using molecular techniques alone, but evidence for gametocytes and data on putative competent hosts forare still lacking outside highland areas. We combined morphological and molecular data to characterize a newspecies infecting a non-migratory red-legged seriema (), the first report of a competent host forin Brazil.n. sp. is distinguished from thegroup by its microgametocytes that are not strongly appressed to the host cell nucleus. The bird studied was coinfected with, and we present a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis based on nearly complete mitochondrial genomes of these 2 parasites.n. sp. morphology is consistent with our phylogenetic analysis indicating that it does not share a recent common ancestor with the.group.andform a monophyletic group withparasites of Reptilia, supporting the polyphyly of the genus. We also discussed the hypothesis thatandmay be avian, highlighting the need to study non-passerine parasites to untangle the systematics of Haemosporida.