Caryospora varaniornati sp. n. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) in the Nile monitor, Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus species complex

Abstract

Abstract. Parasitological examination of two ornate Nile monitors Varanus ornatus (Daudin, 1803) imported from Benin revealed the presence of a new species of Caryospora. Oocysts of Caryospora varaniornati sp. n. are spherical to slightly subspherical, 12.0 (11-12.5) × 11.5 (11-12) µm, without a micropyle and oocyst residuum, and occasionally possessing one small polar granule. Sporocysts are broadly ellipsoidal, 8.8 (8.5-9.5) × 6.7 (6.5-7) µm; a lentil-like Stieda body is present, ca. 0.5 × 1 µm; substieda body not visible. Experimental infection of a closely related host, Varanus niloticus (L.), did not lead to the oocyst excretion despite the fact that one of the experimentally inoculated monitors was immunosuppressed by dexamethasone. Histological examination did not reveal stages of coccidian development. Therefore, it is possible that C. varaniornati is strictly host specific.Coccidia of the genus Caryospora Léger, 1904 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) are widely distributed among snakes and raptorial birds and only a few species have been described from other hosts. Only two species have been described to date from saurian hosts in contrast to the diversity of these coccidia in snakes, from which 46 caryosporan species are listed (Modrý 1999). In this paper we describe a new Caryospora species from the African monitor lizard Varanus ornatus (Daudin, 1803) (Sauria: Varanidae), a member of the poorly understood Varanus niloticus (L.) species complex. MATERIALS AND METHODSAn adult specimen of the ornate Nile monitor, Varanus (Polydaedalus) ornatus from ZOO Brno, at that time hospitalised at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno due to a fracture of the hind limb, was parasitologically examined. Based on data provided by the owner (ZOO Brno), the animal originated from a group of wild-caught Nile monitors recently imported by a pet-trader from Benin in West Africa. The hospitalised animal was kept in quarantine in a glass terrarium and fed on day-old chicks and adult laboratory mice. Faecal samples were collected repeatedly from the floor of the cage and submitted for parasitological examination. Later, faecal samples of a cagemate ornate Nile monitor of the same origin were also provided for parasitological examination by ZOO staff. The faecal samples were examined microscopically after concentration by flotation with modified Sheather's sugar solution (s.g. 1.30). Fresh samples containing unsporulated coccidian oocysts were allowed to sporulate in Petri dishes at room temperature (20-23°C) and examined daily to determine the stage of sporulation. Sporulated oocysts were measured and photographed using Nomarski interference contrast (NIC) optics. Measurements were made using a calibrated ocular micrometer and are reported in micrometres, as means, followed by the ranges in parentheses. Sporulated oocysts were purified by flotation in Sheather's sugar solution and stored in 2.5% aqueous solution (w/v) of potassium dichromate at 4°C for one month before further use.Two juvenile, ca. 6 months...

Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Amblyomma flavomaculatum ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from lizard Varanus exanthematicus imported to Poland

“…There were for instance reports on African reptiles infested with coccidia imported to Great Britain (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) Eimeria foulshami from lizard Gerrhosaurus major bottegoi imported from Sudan, Caryospora regentensis from snake Dendroaspis viridis from Kenya, Caryospora legeri from snake Psammophis sibilans from Nigeria (Daszak and Ball 2001); or the case of coccidia Caryospora varaniornati (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Varanus ornatus imported from Benin, West Africa to the zoological garden in Brno, Czech Republic (Modrý et al 2001); and also spirochetes of Borrelia lusitaniae isolated from z Ixodes ricinus collected from sand lizards Lacerta agilis and wall lizards Podarcis muralis in Germany (Richter and Matuschka 2006).…”