Redescription of Sarcocystis levinei Dissanaike and Kan, 1978 (Protozoa: Sarcocystidae) of the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).

Sarcocystis levinei Dissanaike and Kan, 1978, is redescribed because the original description was a mixture of 2 species, the amended S. levinei and the newly recognized S. buffalonis Huong, Dubey, Nikkilä, and Uggla, 1997. In histological sections, S. levinei sarcocysts are microscopic, up to 640 microm long and up to 95 microm wide. Ultrastructurally, the cyst wall is thin (< 1.0 microm thick) with a minute undulating surface and smooth, hairlike villar protrusions arising at irregular distances from the cyst wall. The villar protrusions have a dome-shaped base (approximately 0.5 microm thick), a fingerlike middle part, and a tapering distal end (<0.1 microm thick). The morphological features of the sarcocyst resemble those of S. cruzi (Hasselman, 1926) Wenyon, 1926, of cattle. Sarcocystis levinei sarcocysts were found in striated muscles including heart, esophagus, tongue, and skeletal muscle. The buffalo myocardium is parasitized exclusively by S. levinei, whereas >1 Sarcocystis species may occur concurrently in other muscular tissues of water buffaloes. Two dogs, but not 2 cats, fed water buffalo hearts infected with S. levinei sarcocysts shed sporocysts measuring 9.5-10.5 x 14.0-16.5 microm starting from days 16 and 18, respectively.