A new coccidian parasite (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the legless lizard Diplometopon zarudnyi (Amphisbaenia: Trogonophidae) in Saudi Arabia.

Large numbers of coccidian oocysts belonging to the genus Isospora were obtained from the intestinal contents of ten legless lizards Diplometopon zarudnyi collected from eastern region, Saudi Arabia. The oocysts are spherical to subspherical, 33.3 x 30.9 (28.6-35.2 x 26.8-32.7) microns with a bilayered wall 1.4 (1.3-1.6) microns thick. Micropyle, polar granule and oocyst residuum are absent. The sporocysts are ellipsoid, 20.1 x 13.8 (17.5-22.3 x 12.2-15.4) microns. A sporocyst residuum, stieda and substieda bodies are present. Sporozoites are banana shaped, blunt at one end and tapered at the other and containing spherical anterior and posterior refractile bodies of the same size. Since this Isospora sp. does not resemble, any other species of Isospora previously described from lizards of the genus Diplometopon, it has been named Isospora diplometoponi n.sp. after the host generic name.