Infection with Sarcocystis species is common in herbivores but is rare in bears. Histological sections of 374 black bears (Ursus americanus) from Pennsylvania were examined for sarcocysts. In total, 3 sarcocysts were found in 3 bears, with 1 sarcocyst per section. Sarcocysts from 2 bears were considered a new species, Sarcocystis ursusi. Sarcocysts of S. ursusi n. sp. were microscopic and contained only bradyzoites. By light microscopy, the sarcocyst wall was thin (<0.5 μm thick) and had minute serrations. Ultrastructurally, the serrations on the sarcocyst wall consisted of villar protrusions (Vp) that were mostly 0.5 μm long. The Vp had bundles of electron-dense microtubules that were as wide as long; these microtubules extended deep into the ground substance layer, a feature that distinguished this species from unnamed sarcocysts from black bear. Bradyzoites were 4.8–6.0 μm long. The sarcocyst from the third bear was structurally different from S. ursusi; its sarcocyst wall was approximately 2 μm thick and had finger-like villi on the cyst wall giving the sarcocyst wall a striated appearance.
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April 2008
SYSTEMATICS-PHYLOGENETICS|
April 01 2008
A New Species of Sarcocystis (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
J. P. Dubey;
J. P. Dubey
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, BARC-East, Building 1001, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350. jitender.dubey@ars.usda.gov
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J. G. Humphreys;
J. G. Humphreys
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, BARC-East, Building 1001, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350. jitender.dubey@ars.usda.gov
* Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Weyandt Hall, Indiana, Pennsylvania 15705
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D. Fritz
D. Fritz
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, BARC-East, Building 1001, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350. jitender.dubey@ars.usda.gov
† Department of Pathology, United States Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, 1425 Porter Street, Frederick, Maryland 21702
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J Parasitol (2008) 94 (2): 496–499.
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J. P. Dubey, J. G. Humphreys, D. Fritz; A New Species of Sarcocystis (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the Black Bear (Ursus americanus). J Parasitol 1 April 2008; 94 (2): 496–499. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-1406.1
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