A new myxosporean, Myxobolus bulbocordis sp. nov., has been found in the heart of a Mesopotamian fish, Barbus sharpeyi (Giinther), in rivers in Southwest Iran. Cysts containing matured spores were located on the serosa of the atrium cordis, bulbus arteriosus, larger gill arteries and inside the wall of the bulbus. The species showed an affinity to connective tissue cells and was never associated with the muscles. Mature cysts were surrounded by a connective tissue capsule composed of two to three layers. Spores in disrupted cysts were infiltrated by epithelioid cells and macrophages. The spores found in Barbus sharpeyi differed in size and morphology from species known from other barbels.
Large cysts about 5 mm in diameter containing mature spores were located in the muscular layer separating the intestinal serosa from the mucosa. The cysts were branched and separated by septa. They bulged deep into the lumen of the gut and the abdominal cavity. Plasmodia showed an affinity to smooth muscle cells and were covered by a degenerated layer of muscular elements. The spores, which had an elongated oval or trapezoid shape, differed in size and morphology from the known Myxobolus specles of other barbels.
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