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Re-discovery of Haemoproteus kopki (De Mello, 1916) in two geckoes from the Afghan border of Pakistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Sam R. Telford Jr
Sam R. Telford Jr
Affiliation:
The Florida State Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611
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Summary

Haemoproteus kopki (De Mello, 1916) is reported from the geckoes Teratoscincus scincus and T. microlepis collected in three localities on the Afghan border of Pakistan. A detailed description of H. kopki is provided in correlation with the courses of an initial, acute infection and a relapsed, chronic infection. Haemoproteus kopki is characterized by large round or oval gametocytes which show sexual dimorphism in distribution of pigment: macrogametocytes show pigment dispersed in dark granules throughout the cytoplasm, while pigment in microgametocytes is aggregated into large, round golden masses within vacuoles in one, or rarely two foci. Other sexual differences exist in gametocyte dimensions. Gametocytes produced in the relapse infection grew much more slowly than did those of the initial infection, and never attained a comparable size despite being observed for twice the length of time. Despite a maximum parasitaemia of 53·8% in the initial infection, increased erythropoiesis did not occur. No asexual stages were found in tissues examined. The presence of mixed infections of H. kopki, Leishmania sp. and microfilariae in a harsh sand dune habitat with presumably limited dipteran fauna suggests their having a common vector in intimate association with the burrows inhabited by the geckoes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , June 1982 , pp. 527 - 536
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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References

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