A New Sarcocystis Species (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) from the Rock Gecko Bunopus tuberculatus in Saudi Arabia

Sarcocystis bunopusi n. sp. from the muscle fibres of the rock gecko (Bunopus tuberculatus) in Saudi Arabia is described. Sarcocysts were found in skeletal muscles of the tail and fore and hind limbs in 3 of 30 geckos. Sarcocysts were microscopic, 42–45 µm long and 22–25 µm wide. Using light microscopy, the cyst wall was thin and smooth. Ultrastructurally, the primary cyst wall consisted of a thin parasitophorous vacuolar membrane with osmiophilic 100 nm × 50 nm knob-like papillae, and no perpendicular protrusions. Septae were indistinct. Bradyzoites were 5–7 × 1.5–2.0 µm in size. This is the first description of a Sarcocystis species from this gecko.