New Species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Ochotona hyperborea and Ochotona pallasi (Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae) in Mongolia

• Main Authors: Tinnin, David S., Jensen, Ethan T., Batsaikhan, Nyamsuren, Ganzorig, Sumiya, Gardner, Scott Lyell
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2012
• Subjects: Ochotona alpina; O. dauurica; O. pallasi; O. hyperborea; Oocysts of Eimeria dunnumi; Eimeria burti; Eimeria salazarbravoi; Mongolia; Pika; Animal Sciences; Asian Studies; Biodiversity; Environmental Sciences; Geography; Nature and Society Relations; Other Animal Sciences; Gardner; Lynch; Pacific; Tuva; taiga; ural mountains
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biolmongol/15; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/biolmongol/article/1014/viewcontent/Erforschung_band_12_p125_134.pdf

An examination of the feces from 8 pikas collected in 1999 and from 17 pikas collected in 2009 in Mongolia revealed the presence of 3 new eimerian species. Four of the 5 species of pikas present in Mongolia were studied including: Ochotona alpina, O. dauurica, O. pallasi, and O. hyperborea. Oocysts of Eimeria dunnumi n. sp. from O. hyperborea collected in 1999 are ellipsoid, average length and width of 31.4 x 20.8 μm, with a 1.4 μm thick double layered wall, lacking a micropyle, oocyst residuum, and polar granule. Sporocysts of this species are ellipsoid, 12.8 x 8.1 μm in length and width, with a steida body and a compact sporocyst residuum. Oocysts of Eimeria burti n. sp., from O. pallasi collected in 2009 are ovoid, 26.3 x 21.1 μm in average length and width, with a 1.6 μm thick double layered wall with an oocyst residuum. Their sporocysts are ellipsoidal, with a length and width of 11.4 x 7.8 μm with a prominent steida body. Oocysts of Eimeria salazarbravoi n. sp., from O. pallasi collected in 2009 are ovoidal, 26.6 x 20.5 μm in average length and width, with a 1.6 μm thick double layered wall, with a micropyle. Their sporocysts are ellipsoidal, with a length and width of 11.6 x 7.6 μm with a prominent Steida body and a compact sporocyst residuum. Species of Ochotona, pikas, are found in habitats ranging from semi-desert to taiga and high mountains across the Holarctic. The majority of the 30 currently recognized species occur in Asia, with only 2 species occurring in North America (HOFFMANN & SMITH 2005). Five of the Asian representatives of this genus occur in Mongolia. Ochotona hyperborea (PALLAS, 1811), the northern pika, has a broad distribution across Asia, from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific and south into northern Mongolia and China. In Mongolia they are common in the talus slopes and mountain steppe habitats of the northern part of the country. PALLAS’ pika, Ochotona pallasi (GRAY, 1867), has a disjunct distribution, with populations of this species ranging from Kazakhstan east through the ...