A new species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa) from Cordylus cataphractus (Sauria: Cordylidae), from South Africa.

Three armadillo girdled lizards, Cordylus cataphractus Boie, 1828, housed at the Dallas Zoo in Texas, USA but originally imported from Namaqualand, South Africa, were found to be passing oocysts of a previously undescribed species of eimerian. Oocysts of Eimeria murphyi sp. n. are cylindroidal, 44.1 x 21.3 (41.5-46.5 x 20.5-24) microns, with a shape index (length/width) of 2.07 (1.75-2.21). A micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent, but a polar granule is present. Sporocysts ellipsoidal, 13.5 x 10.2 (13-14.5 x 9.5-11) microns (N = 20), with a shape index of 1.32 (1.23-1.46). Each sporozoite possesses a single, posterior refractile body. This represents the first report of coccidia infecting a member of the saurian family Cordylidae.