Type host: Dermophis mexicanus (Dumeril & Bibron, 1841), Mexican caecilian.

Other hosts: None reported to date.

Type locality: CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala: Departamento de San Marcos, Pacific versant on the lower slopes of Volcan Tajumulco, Finca San Ignacio, 14º 54' 0" N, 92º 0' 0" W.

Geographic distribution: CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala.

Description of oocyst: Oocyst shape: spheroidal to subspheroidal; number of walls: 1; wall thickness: ~1; wall characteristics: appears to be composed of 1 layer, paly yellow, with widely spaced bumps; L x W: 19.5 x 17.7 (16-23 x 15-21); L/W ratio: 1.1 (1.0-1.4); M: absent; OR: absent; PG: present; number of PGs: 3 or more, highly refractile, each spheroidal, ~1. Distinctive features of oocyst: outer wall that appears striated in optical cross section with widely spaced bumps onouter surface.

Description of sporocysts and sporozoite: Sporocyst shape: ovoidal; L x W: 11.0 x 7.2 (10-12 x 6-9); L/W ratio: 1.5 (1.2-2.0); SB: small, at pointed end of sporocyst; SSB: small, indistinct; PSB: absent; SR: present; SR characteristics: composed of small to medium granules that completely fill sporocysts; SZ: mostly obscured by SR, but with 1 spheroidal RB, ~3-4, at 1 end and a smaller RB at opposite end. Distinctive features of sporocysts: none.

Prevalence: 2 of 5 (40%).

Sporulation: Unknown.

Prepatent and patent periods: Unknown.

Site of infection: Unknown, oocysts recovered from fecal material.

Endogenous development: Unknown.

Materials deposited: Photosyntypes of sporulated oocysts deposited in the USNPC, document no. 313 (No. 88840); symbiotype host deposited in the Herpetological Collection, the University of Texas, Arlington, TX (UTA A-52165).

Remarks: This is the first and only coccidia species to be described from any member of the order Gymnophiona. One of 2 hosts was very heavily infected; given the known diet of caecilians, Asmundsson et al. (2000) believed it unlikely that the oocysts found were from an infected food item. Although a few of the sporulated oocysts known from both anurans and caudatans (above) are similar in size to those of E. dermophis, there are sufficient differences between other quantitative and qualitative features of the oocysts and their sporocysts to easily distinguish them. Based on oocyst and sporocyst size, there are only 3 species with sporulated oocysts that are similar to those of E. dermophis. Eimeria kingi Saxe 1955, has a large globular oocyst residuum not seen in E. dermophis. Oocysts of Eimeria waltoni Saxe 1955, are similar in size to those of E. dermophis, but the outer oocyst wall is smooth and it has an oocyst residuum that appears as a single refractile granule. Eimeria urodela Duszynski et al. 1972, differs from E. dermophis by having a smooth oocyst wall, lacking polar granules, and possessing an oocyst residuum. For these reasons, we agree with the decision of Asmundsson et al. (2000) in designating E. dermophis as a valid species. In addition, no Eimeria species are known to cross ordinal boundaries, so the host species and its locality also help distinguish this eimerian as a distinct species.