Coccidia of New World passerine birds (Aves: Passeriformes): a review of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 and Isospora Schneider, 1881 (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae)

Abstract

In the New World, the avian order Passeriformes comprises 47 families and 2,453 species, yet to date only 21 (45%) of the families and 58 (2%) of the species have been examined for coccidia, and from these only two species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 and 81 species of Isospora Schneider, 1881 have been described. This review contributes to our understanding of the morphology and systematics of coccidian parasites of passeriforms, providing a scientific basis for the identification of sporulated oöcysts recovered from the faeces of passerine birds from North, Central and South America. To this end, the coccidia were organised and grouped according to the family of the host, following the widely recognised concept of family-specificity and the updated systematics of the class Aves. Details of 83 eimeriid species are presented along with an illustration and tabulated data.

Occurrence of eggs and oocysts of gastrointestinal parasites in passerine birds kept in captivity in Para State, Brazil

“…oocysts, similar to the data obtained by BERTO et al (2011), who showed that most coccidia infecting passerine birds are species of the genus Isospora, but Eimeria species also occurred although with a lower frequency. Our results are also consistent with observations in Saltator similis in captivity, in Valença, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and according to VASCONCELOS et al (2013) Isospora Table 1 -Results of coproparasitological analysis in species of passerine birds.…”

“…Such diseases can cause subclinical alterations or even death of birds subjected to stress, recently introduced or kept in high-population density precincts. Although little is known about parasitic infection rates of passerines in different regions of Brazil, it is known that helminthiasis and coccidiosis often affect birds in captivity (FIGUEROA-LYRA et al, 2002;BERTO et al, 2011). Therefore, diagnostic studies on endoparasites both extend knowledge about the epidemiology of gastrointestinal diseases and serve as a basis to implement an adequate health management for wild birds kept in captivity (GUIMARÃES, 2007).…”

Isospora anthochaerae n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from a Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) (Passeriformes: Meliphagidae) in Western Australia

“…While numerous species of Isospora infecting birds 76 have been described (cf. Berto et al, 2011), relatively few species Q3 77 have been characterised genetically (Olson et al, 1998;Carreno 78 et al, 1999;Schrenzel et al, 2005;Dolnik et al, 2009 (Fig. 1) …”

Caryospora peneireiroi n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) in the common kestrel, Falco tinnunculus (Falconiformes: Falconidae), in mainland Portugal

“…are native in both the New and the Old World, for example: Falco columbarius Linnaeus, 1758, Falco peregrinus Tunstall, 1771, and Falco rusticolus Linnaeus, 1758. This assumption of coccidian dispersion across species of Falco and subsequently of Falconidae is grounded in the concept of intra-familial specificity, which was suggested by Duszynski & Wilber (1997) and has been reaffirmed in several subsequent studies on coccidians in birds (BERTO et al, 2011).…”