A new species of coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Cordillera striped shrew-rat, Chrotomys whiteheadi (Rodentia: Muridae), from the Philippines

During July 2011, a single Cordillera striped shrew-rat (Chrotomys whiteheadi) was collected from the Philippines and its faeces examined for coccidian parasites. It harboured an eimerian that we describe here as new. Oocysts of Eimeria macarthuri sp. n. were spheroidal to subspheroidal with a bi-layered wall and measured (length x width, L x W) 18.2 x 17.0 mu m, with an L/W ratio of 1.1. A micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule were absent. Sporocysts were ovoidal, 9.0 x 6.4 mu m, with an L/W ratio of 1.3. A nipple-like Stieda body was present as well as a substieda body. A granular sporocyst residuum was present. To our knowledge, E. macarthuri represents the only coccidian ever described from a rodent of the Philippines.