| Sumario: |
A species of Sarcocystis is reported from a naturally infected African grey parrot, Psittacus erithacus, from Costa Rica. Only
mature sarcocysts, measuring up to 2 mm in length and up to 750 μm in width, were observed. The sarcocyst wall was smooth.
The villar protrusions on the sarcocyst wall were up to 5 μm long and up to 1.1 μm wide; they were folded over the sarcocyst
wall giving a thin-walled appearance. The microtubules in villar protrusions were smooth and confined to villar protrusions.
Bradyzoites in sections were 5.4ñ6.6 × 1.3ñ2.0 μm in size. Sequencing the small subunit and first internal transcribed spacer
portions of ribosomal DNA related this parasite to, but distinguished it from, previously characterized species of Sarcocystis
that encyst in the musculature of birds and complete their sexual development in New World opossums of the genus Didelphis.
This evidence suggests that the parrot may have acquired its infection from an opossum from which it suffered a debilitating
attack a year prior to the onset of depression, anorexia, and ultimately death.
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