BACKGROUND Insect eggshells must combine protection for the yolk and embryo with provisions for respiration and for the entry of sperm, which are ensured by aeropyles and micropyles, respectively. Insects which oviposit the eggs in an egg-case have a double problem of respiration as gas exchange then involves two barriers. An example of this situation is found in the cockroach Blattella germani...

Ovule development in Arabidopsis and other plants has been the focus of classic and molecular genetic analyses in recent years. This has been an exciting time to be involved in plant developmental biology, because many genetic pathways and regulatory mechanisms have been elucidated. Continued studies of ovule mutants have contributed to and benefited from these advances. Ovule development invol...

A description of the coccidium Isospora hemidactyli from the house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia, a very common at dwellings in Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, was made in this study. Histograms and linear regression were made for this species and determined the homogeneity of these oocysts despite of large range. Besides it, polysporocystid oocysts also were recovered from feces of the H. mab...

We report here the fine structure of the eggs of blowflies Aldrichina grahami (Aldrich) and Chrysomya pacifica Kurahashi. For A. grahami, the plastron is wide and extends to almost the entire length of the eggs. The plastron near the micropyle is truncated. The polygonal patterns of chorionic sculpture bear a distinct swollen boundary. Regarding C. pacifica, the plastron is narrow and extends t...

Oocyst morphology and endogenous developmental stages are described for Choleoeimeria salaselensis sp. n. from the gall bladder of 10 horned vipers, Cerastes gasperettii Leviton and Anderson, in Saudi Arabia. Sporulated oocysts are ellipsoidal, 23 x 15 (22-25 x 14-17) microm, length/width ratio (L/W) 1.5 (1.4-1.6), each with 4 sporocysts (Eimeria-like), but lack a micropyle, polar granules and ...

Coprological examination of 15 Indian peacocks, Pavo cristatus, revealed the presence of a coccidium species of the genus Eimeria, which apparently represents a previously undescribed species. Sporulation is exogenous and fully developed oocysts of Eimeria pavoaegyptica sp. nov. are ellipsoidal, with a dimension of 15 (13-16) × 12 (10-12.9) microm and with a shape index of 1.25 (1-1.3). The spo...

Between 1979 and 1980, 104 bats representing 13 species in 4 families were collected in California and New Mexico, U.S.A., and Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and were examined for coccidia; only 3 (3%) had oocysts in their feces. Bats examined and their infection rates were: Molossidae: 0 of 12 Tadarida brasiliensis, 1 of 18 (6%) T. femorosacca; Natalidae: 0 of 1 Natalus stramineus; Phyllo...