During October and November 1986, Sarcocystis sp. was detected in 24 of 56 (43%) tongues from hunter-killed mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in Washington (USA). Sarcocysts had an unusual sessile polyp-shaped branched wall. Mean size of 154 sarcocysts was 71.3 × 37.8 μm (range, 20 to 248 × 10 to 120 μm), and the mean intensity was 2.3 (range, 1 to 28). In an attempt to identify the definitive host, infected tongues were fed to four coyotes (Canis latrans), eight domestic dogs, four domestic cats, three bears (Ursus americanus), two raccoons (Procyon lotor), two martens (Martes americana), two fishers (Martes pennanti), three skunks (Mephitis mephitis), five mink (Mustela vison), five ferrets (Mustela putorius), one pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina), two redtailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and one great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). Oocysts or sporocysts were not detected in the feces of any host for ≤20 days after ingestion of the infected meat. The definitive host for Sarcocystis sp. in mountain goats was not identified.
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1 October 1989
Sarcocystis sp. in Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus) in Washington: Prevalence and Search for the Definitive Host
William J. Foreyt
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 25 • No. 4
October 1989
Vol. 25 • No. 4
October 1989
definitive host
experimental infections
mountain goat
Oreamnos americanus
prevalence
Sarcocystis sp