Diversity of Coccidian Parasites (Coccidia : Eimeriidae) from Maharashtra

A total of 82 species (56 named and 26 unnamed) of coccidian parasites belonging to two genera, viz., Eimeria and Isospora have been found to occur in Maharashtra from various hosts, such as, in fishes (2 named and 9 unnamed species), reptiles (4 named species), birds (9 named and 14 unnamed species) and mammals (41 named and 3 unnamed species). Amongst the named coccidian parasites, five species viz., Eimeria knowlesi, E. hemidactyli, E. columbae, E. debliecki and E. zuernii constitute first report from Maharashtra state, while out of 26 unnamed species more than 10 species reported herein may be new species and need further study. Highest diversity of parasitic species (44 named and unnamed species) was recorded from mammalian hosts. The highest number of these coccidian parasites belongs to the genus Eimeria (48 named and 18 unnamed species) and less than one-fifth of the total eimeriid coccidian diversity listed from the genus Isospora (8 named and 8 unnamed species). Most of these coccidian parasite species were recorded from Marathwada region of Maharashtra state. Prevalence and pathogenicity of some of these species have also been discussed.