Caryospora duszynskii (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) From the Speckled Kingsnake, Lampropeltis holbrooki (Reptilia: Ophidia), in Arkansas, With a Summary of Previous Reports.

The speckled kingsnake, Lampropeltis holbrooki Stejneger (=L. getula holbrooki) is a medium sized colubrid that ranges from southern Iowa south through to the Gulf of Mexico (Conant and Collins 1998). In Arkansas, L. holbrooki can be found statewide where it inhabits forested woodlands and rocky hillsides in the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita mountains) to floodplains and swampy wetlands in the Gulf Coastal Plain (Trauth et al. 2004). Much is known about the ecology of this snake (see Trauth et al. 2004); however, less is known about its coccidian parasites. Fully sporulated oocysts and free sporocysts of Sarcocystis montanaensis Dubey were reported in a naturally infected L. holbrooki from Benton County, Arkansas by Lindsay et al. (1992) where they determined this snake species was the definitive host in a previously unknown speckled kingsnake-prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) life cycle. However, after carefully examining the same isolate, Duszynski and Upton (2009) found minor differences in sporocyst size and in the primary sarcocyst wall and named it as a new species, Sarcocystis lampropeltii. In addition, Eimeria zamenis Phisalix has been reported from L. holbrooki in Illinois and Iowa (see Duszynski and Upton 2009). Herein, we document a new host record for another coccidian parasite of L. holbrooki as well as a summary of hosts of this coccidian. collected by hand and examined for coccidian parasites. Snakes were killed with an overdose of sodium pentobarbital (Nembutal®) and a mid-ventral incision was made to expose fecal contents. Feces was collected and placed in individual vials containing 2.5% (w/v) aqueous potassium dichromate (K 2 Cr 2 O 7) and examined by light microscopy following flotation in Sheather's sugar solution (specific gravity = 1.30). Negative samples were discarded and a single positive sample with unsporulated oocysts was allowed 1 week of sporulation at room temperature (ca. 23°C) in a Petri dish containing a thin layer of 2.5% K 2 Cr 2 O 7. This sample was shipped to R.S. Seville and oocysts were concentrated with Sheather's sugar solution (sp. gr. 1.30) and examined using a compound microscope equipped with Nomarski interference-contrast (DIC) optics. Thirty-six oocysts were photographed and measured using Olympus Microsuite © software. Measurements are reported in micrometers (µm) with means followed by the ranges in parentheses. Oocysts were ca. 71 days old when measured and photographed. Standardized abbreviations for characteristics of oocysts and sporocysts are per Wilber et al. (1998) as follows: oocyst length (L) …