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Haemogregarina triatomae n. sp. from a South American Lizard Tupinambis teguixin Transmitted by the Reduviid Triatoma rubrovaria

1942; American Society of Parasitologists; Volume: 28; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3272727

1937-2345

J. J. Osimani,

Malaria Research and Control

Talice in 1929, examining the rectal contents of the blood-sucking reduviid Triatoma rubrovaria (Blanchard 1843) coming from the Cerro de Montevideo, noticed croissant-like cells which he considered as sporozoites of a haemogregarine. In 1939 we made the same finding in several nymphs and adults of Triatoma rubrovaria coming from Maldonado, which also cohtained T. cruzi. If they were, indeed, the final sporogonic forms from a haemogregarine, what was their vertebrate host ? The problem, as we see, was reversed from the way it commonly develops with haemogregarines whose species have been described in great number only in the vertebrate. In this case, we knew the intermediate host; the question was to find the definitive host. Talice had suggested that the definitive host might possibly be the small lizard Teious teyou, in whose burrows Triatoma rubrovaria frequently dwells. The blood examination of six specimens of that lizard, coming from that place, proved negative in 1939. However, later on, in 1940, examining a young lizard which came from Maldonado, we were successful in finding it parasitized with haemogregarines. The lizard specimen was classified by the learned Director of the Natural History Museum of Montevideo, Dr. G. Devincenzi, as Tupinambis teguixin L. In the blood films stained by Pappenheim's method, the parasites showed the following appearance: worm-like shaped cells, slightly curved, measuring 16 ,u in length and 5.5 p in width, with rounded and very similar ends. In some examples a kind of fine, long fissure, parallel to the longer axis of the protozoon, which sometimes penetrates very deeply in the body (Figs. 6 and 8) is seen at one end. This does not seem to be an artifact but rather the folding of the parasite within its capsule, a phenomenon which is known in many haemogregarines. There is a prolonged nucleus, smaller than half the length of the haemogregarine; the longer axis parallel to the longer axis of the latter. It stains violet and is placed near the convex side of the parasite, near the boundary between the middle third and the terminal third.