Sixteen of 22 (73%) Roemer's snails, Mesodon roemeri, collected in June 1989 from Johnson County, Texas were found to be passing oocysts of Pfeifferinella gugleri (Wacha, 1980) in their feces. Oocysts had no sporocysts but each contained 8 free sporozoites and a distinct oocyst residuum and micropyle. This coccidian was originally described from the white-lipped land snail, Neohelix ( = Triodopsis) albolabris from Iowa, and also has been reported from the land snail Oxyloma retusa from Minnesota. Six additional species of snails (n = 31) were surveyed and were not found to be passing coccidian oocysts.
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Comparative Parasitology
Vol. 80 • No. 1
January 2013
Vol. 80 • No. 1
January 2013
Apicomplexa
Coccidia
Gastropoda
land snail
Mesodon roemeri
Pfeifferinella gugleri
Pfeifferinellidae