A guideline for the preparation of species descriptions in the Eimeriidae

Members of the suborder Eimeriina (phylum Apicomplexa: class Sporozoea: order Eucoccidiorida) have complex 1 or 2 host life cycles that involve endogenous development in the tissues of vertebrates or invertebrates and exogenous development in an oocyst, usually outside the host(s). Because tissue stages are logistically difficult or even impossible to obtain in natural (wild) host-parasite systems, the vast majority (>98%) of species in this parasite complex are known only from the structure of their sporulated oocyst. Unfortunately, the quality of these species descriptions is uneven because no guidelines are available for workers in the field to follow. Here we propose a specific set of guidelines for the preparation of species descriptions of coccidia based predominently on the structure of the sporulated oocyst, because the oocyst is the most readily available stage in the life cycle. In addition, we emphasize that ancillary data be incorporated whenever possible with the species description; these data may include, but are not limited to, ecological parameters, prevalence, seasonal data, and the deposition of both host symbiotypes and parasite hepantotypes (=phototypes) into accredited museums so that accurate identification of both host and parasite material can be assured in perpetuity. And finally, if oocysts are collected in pure suspension, that is, if only one coccidian species (morphotype) is present in the sample, then some oocysts should be saved in 70% ethanol and archived in an accredited museum in the event that future workers might wish to amplify and, later, sequence the parasite's DNA.