Description of sp. nov. from Florida pumas () from southern Florida, USA.

Previously, a high prevalence of piroplasms has been reported from Florida pumas ( from southern Florida. In the current study, we describe the biological characteristics of a novel species in Florida pumas. Ring-stage trophozoites were morphologically similar to trophozoites of numerous small babesids of felids including , and . Parasitemias in Florida pumas were very low (<1%) and hematologic values of 25 infected Florida pumas were within normal ranges for . Phylogenetic analysis of near full-length 18S rRNA gene, β-tubulin, cytochrome oxidase subunit I, cytochrome oxidase subunit III, and cytochrome gene sequences indicated that this species is a member of the sensu stricto clade and is related to groups of spp. from carnivores or ungulates, although the closest group varied by gene target. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 region sequences from this sp. from 19 Florida pumas were 85.7-99.5% similar to each other and ∼88% similar to Similarly, an ITS-2 sequence from one puma was 96% similar to and 92% similar to a sp. from a red panda (). Infected pumas were positive for antibodies that reacted with , and antigens with titers of 1:256, 1:128, and 1:128, respectively. No serologic reactivity was noted for . No molecular evidence of congenital infection was detected in 24 kittens born to 11 -infected female pumas. Pumas from other populations in the United States [Louisiana (n = 1), North Dakota (n = 5) and Texas (n = 28)], British Columbia, Canada (n = 9), and Costa Rica (n = 2) were negative for this sp. Collectively, these data provide morphologic, serologic, genetic, and natural history data for this novel sp. which we propose the name coryicola sp. nov. sp. This is the first description of a felid-associated species in North America.