A New Coccidium of Turkeys, Eimeria Subrotunda N. sp. (Protozoa: Eimeriidae)

TO DATE six species of coccidia affecting the turkey have been described. They are Eimeria meleagridis, Eimeria meleagrimitis, and Eimeria dispersa described by Tyzzer (1929), Eimeria gallopavonis described by Hawkins (1950), and Eimeria adenoeides and Eimeria innocua isolated and identified by Moore and Brown (1951 Moore and Brown (1952). It is the purpose of this paper to report upon another new species of turkey coccidia. The exact origin of this species is not known since it was obtained from a mixed culture collected by Dr. Philip Hawkins possibly prior to 1950. When Dr. Hawkins discontinued his studies with turkey coccidia his entire collection was turned over to the authors. In one culture labeled E. gallopavonis was found a subspherical type which contained no refractile body. Subsequent investigation of this type definitely indicated that it represented a new species for which the name of Eimeria subrotunda is proposed. A complete description has already been …