Isospora boughtoni Volk, 1938 and Isospora sp. (Protozoa: Eimeriidae from an opossum Didelphis marsupialis.

Abstract

On January 17, 1969, an adult male opossum, Didelpbiis mmiarsupiahis, was brought to the USDA Regional Parasite Research Laboratory, Auburn, Alabama, for parasitologic examination. The opossum had been struck and killed by an automobile near the Laboratory sometime during the previous night. Sugar flotation of a fecal sample revealed the presence of coccidial oocysts, which after sporulation were identified as two species of lsospora. Feathers of a bird, identified as a brownheaded cowbird, Molothirus ater, were also present in the intestinal contents. This report describes the two Isospora species, one of which may be of avian origin.