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Two new species of Sarcocystis, Sarcocystis ramphastosi sp. nov. and Sarcocystis sulfuratusi sp. nov. are described from a naturally infected keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus). Only sarcocysts were found and they were mature. Sarcocysts of S. ramphastosi were up to 3 mm long and up to 1 mm wide. The sarcocyst wall was smooth. The villar protrusions on the sarcocyst wall of S. ramphastosi were up to 6.5 µm long and up to 3 µm wide; they were folded over the sarcocyst wall giving a thin-walled appearance. The microtubules in villar protrusions were smooth and confined to villar protrusions. Bradyzoites in sections were 4-4.5 × 1.3-1.6 µm in size. Sarcocysts of S. sulfuratusi were up to 900 µm long and up to 200 µm wide. The sarcocyst wall was smooth and thin-walled. The villar protrusions were up to 4.3 µm long and 1.4 µm wide. The microtubules in villar protrusions extended deeper into the granular layer of the sarcocyst wall and those in the granular layer were more electron-dense than in the villar protrusions. Bradyzoites were 5.0-7.0 × 1.5-2.2 µm in size.
Page compiled by M. Bultowicz Last modification: 16-06-2004