Coccidia (Eimeriidae) of Xenarthra
(anteaters, armadillos, sloths)

Compiled by
Donald W. Duszynski1, Steve J. Upton2, and Lee Couch1

1Department of Biology, University of New Mexico
2Division of Biology, Kansas State University

Supported by NSF-PEET DEB 9521687

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright 1998. Material at this site is intellectual property and is protected by the International Berne Convention Treaty and by copyright laws of the United States of America. Permission hereby is granted by the authors for individuals to make copies of any portion of this work for personal or classroom use, without fee, providing that the information is not distributed for profit or for commerical advantage. Any use of this information for scientific purposes, such as contained in taxonomic review articles, books, book chapters, or monographs, MUST be accompanied by an appropriate credit citing the above authors by name and acknowledging NSF grant PEET DEB 9521687. Any use of this information for profit or other commercial gain must be negotiated with the authors.

Updated: 2 May 1999
Comments: eimeria@unm.edu (Duszynski)
or coccidia@ksu.edu (Upton)


FAMILY: Dasypodidae (armadillos)

Eimeria dacunhai Levine, 1984
Synonym: Eimeria tatusi of Carini, 1933, nomen preocc
non Eimeria tatusi da Cunha & Torres, 1924
Host: Cabassous sp. ("Tatu")
References: Carini 1933, 1934; Levine 1984

Eimeria (?) tatusi (da Cunha & Torres, 1924) Levine, 1984 nomen nudum

Synonym: Globidium tatusi da Cunha & Torres, 1924
Host: Cabassus novemcinctus (Nine-banded armadillo)
References: da Cunha & Torres, 1924, 1926
*NOTE: This species was named soley on the presence of intestinal meronts.

Eimeria (?) travassosi da Cunha & Muniz, 1928, nomen nudum

Hosts: Dasypus hybridus, Euphractus sexcinctus
References: da Cunha & Muniz 1928; Doflein & Reichenow 1953; Reichenow & Carini 1937
*NOTE: This species was named soley on the presence of meronts and gametes.

FAMILY: Myrmecophagidae (anteaters)

Eimeria corticulata Lainson & Shaw, 1990

Host: Tamandua tetradactyla (Lesser anteater)
Reference: Lainson & Shaw 1990

Eimeria cyclopei Lainson & Shaw, 1982

Host: Cyclopes didactylus (Silky anteater)
Reference: Lainson & Shaw 1982

Eimeria escomeli (Rastegaieff, 1930) Levine & Becker, 1933

Host: Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Giant anteater)
References: Gardner et al. 1991; Levine & Becker 1930; Rastegaiff 1930

Eimeria marajoensis Lainson & Shaw, 1991

Host: Tamandua tetradactyla (Lesser anteater)
Reference: Lainson & Shaw 1991

Eimeria tamanduae Lainson, 1968

Host: Tamandua tetradactyla (Lesser anteater)
Reference: Lainson 1968

Eimeria tenggilingi Else & Colley, 1976

Host: Manis javanica (Scaly anteater)
Reference: Else & Colley 1976

FAMILY: Megalonychidae (sloths)

"Coccidia" of Diniz & Oliveira, 1999

Host: Bradypus sp.
Reference: Diniz & Oliveira 1999

"Coccidia" of Diniz & Oliveira, 1999

Host: Choloepus sp.
Reference: Diniz & Oliveira 1999

Eimeria choloepi Lainson & Shaw, 1982

Host: Choloepus didactylus (Two-toed sloth)
Reference: Lainson & Shaw 1982

"Unsporulated oocysts" of Schmidt, Duszynski, & Martin, 1992

Host: Nothrotheriops shastensis (Shasta ground sloth)
Reference: Schmidt et al. 1992
*NOTE: Two types of unsporulated oocysts were found in coprolites and a new genus, Archeococcidia, created.

References

Carini, A. 1933. Sur deux nouvelles Eimeria rencontrees dans l'intestine d'un jeune tatou. Annales de Parasitologie humaine et Comparee 11: 469-471.

Carini, A. 1934. Formes de multiplication des Eimeria rencontress chez un jeune tatou. Annales de Parasitologie humaine et Comparee 12: 58-60.

da Cunha, A.M. and Muniz, J. 1928. Sur un nouveau sporozoaire, parasite du tatou. Comptes Rendues des Societe Bresilienne de Biologie 98: 624-627.

da Cunha, A.M. and Torres, C. de M. 1924. Sur un nouveau Globidium, G. tatusi Cunha e Torres, 1923, parasite de l'armadillo. Comptes Rendus des Societe Bresilienne de Biologie 90: 242.

da Cunha, A.M. and Torres, C. de M. 1926. On a new parasitic sporozoon from the armadillo Globidium tatusi, Cunha et Torres. Memoirias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 19: 19-30.

Diniz, L.S.M., Costa, E.O., Olivera, P.M.A. 1995. Clinical disorders observed in anteaters (Myrmecophagidae, Edentata) in captivity. Veterinary Research Communications 19: 409-415.

Diniz, L.S.M., and Oliveira, P.M.A. 1999. Clinical problems of sloths (Bradypus sp. and Choloepus sp.) in captivity. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 30: 76-80.

Doflein, F. and Reichenow, E. 1953. Lehrbuch der Protozoenkunde. Veb Gustav Fisher Verlag, Jena.

Else, J.G. and Colley, F.C. 1976. Eimeria tenggilingi sp. n. from the scaly anteater Manis javanica Desmarest in Malaysia. Journal of Protozoology 23: 487-488.

Gardner, S.L., Upton, S.J., Lambert, C.R., and Jordan, O.C. 1991. Redescription of Eimeria excomeli (Rastegaieff, 1930) from Myrmecophaga tridactyla, and a first report from Bolivia. Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington 58: 16-18.

Lainson, R. 1968. Parasitological studies in British Honduras III.--Some coccidial parasites of mammals. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 62: 252-266.

Lainson, R. and Shaw, J.J. 1982. Coccidia of Brazilian edentates: Eimeria cyclopei from the silky anteater, Cyclopes didactylus (linn.) and Eimeria choloepi n. sp. from the two-toed sloth, Choloepus didactylus (Linn.). Systematic Parasitology 4: 269-278.

Lainson, R. and Shaw, J.J. 1990. Coccidia of Brazilian mammals: Eimeria corticulata n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the anteater Tamandua tetradactyla (Xenarthra: Myrmecophagidae) and Eimeria zygodontonyis n. sp. from the cane mouse Zygodontomys lasiurus (Rodentia: Cricetidae). Journal of Protozoology 37: 51-54.

Lainson, R. and Shaw, J.J. 1991. Coccidia of Brazilian Mammals: Eimeria marajoensis n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla (Xenarthra: Myrmecophagidae). Journal of Protozoology 38: 28-30.

Levine, N.D. 1984. Nomenclatural corrections and new taxa in the Apicomplexan protozoa. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society 103: 195-204.

Levine, N.D. and Becker, E.R. 1930. A catalog and host-index of the species of the coccidian genus Eimeria. Iowa State College Journal of Science 8: 83-106.

Rastegaiff, F.E.F. 1930. Sur Frage uber Coccidien wilder Tiere. Archiv fur Protistenkunde 71: 377-404.

Reichenow, E. and Carini, A. 1937. Uber Eimeria travassosi und die Gattung Globidium. Archiv fur Protistenkunde 88: 374-386.

Schmidt, G.D., Duszynski, D.W., and Martin, P.S. 1992. Parasites of the extinct Shasta ground sloth, Nothrotheriops shastensis, in Rampart Cave, Arizona. Journal of Parasitology 78: 811-816.