Comparative study of rumen ciliates in buffalo, cattle and sheep in Egypt.

Rumen ciliates species and composition of the sheep, Friesian-cattle and water buffaloes in Egypt were surveyed. As a result, 7 genera with 18 species and 6 formae in sheep, 10 genera with 28 species and 11 formae in cattle and 12 genera with 29 species and 7 formae in water buffaloes were detected. Twenty-two species were common in both cattle and buffaloes, while 12 species in sheep were common with the other ruminants. Entodinium spp., such as E. simplex, E. nanellum and E. exigum, appeared most frequently in every host. In general, Egyptian domestic ruminants had the rumen ciliate composition similar to that of domestic ruminants in temperate zone, though the water buffaloes had several tropical species such as Entodinium longinucleatum forma spinonucleatum. The ciliate density was estimated as 10(5)/ml in every host species.