Type host: Spermophilus lateralis

Ohter hosts: Tamias striatus; T. cinereicollis.

Type locality: North America: USA, Essex County, Massachusetts, Town of Boxford.

Other localities: North America: USA, New Mexico.

Description of oocyst: Oocyst shape: ovoid; wall thickness: 1.2-1.6; layers: 2; outer layer proportion of total thickness: 3/4; outer layer colour: pale green to colourless; outer layer texture: rough, with small pits; inner wall characteristics: dark brown, smooth; micropyle: absent; OR: absent; PG: present; number of PGs: 1; PG shape: irregular; PG L x W: not given; size: 26.1 x 16.7 (23-31 x 15-19); L/W ratio: 1.6 (1.4-1.7). Distinctive features of oocyst: wall thins noticeably near its tapered end.

Description of sporocysts and sporozoites: Sporocyst shape: ovoid; size: 11.8 x 7.8 (11-13 x 7.5-9); SB: present; SB L x W: not given; SB characteristics: small; SSB: absent; PSB: absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: dense, centrally located, usually rounded; SR size: not given; SP: stout and slightly curved, at the end of the sporocyst. Distinctive features of sporocyst: none.

Material deposited: USNPC No. 87255 (phototype).

Remarks: Eimeria ovata was described from T. striatus by Duncan (1968), but also has been observed in S. lateralis and T. cinericollis (Wilber unpubl. data).

Reference: Duncan (1968).