New bird parasite species identified in Brazilian rainforest tanager
Ortúzar-Ferreira CN, Oliveira MS, Dorna-Santos L, Gate LS, Lima VM
Native Plants
This one's for the bird-watchers, not the gardeners: it's a reminder that even a common forest songbird can carry undiscovered life forms, showing how much biodiversity still hides in plain sight in protected parks.
Researchers studying a red-crowned ant-tanager, a small bird that lives on the forest floor in Central and South America, found a parasite living inside it that had never been described before. They named it Isospora habiae and confirmed it was new both by looking at its distinctive shape under a microscope and by reading its DNA. It's the first parasite of its kind in this bird family to be identified using genetic testing.
Key Findings
Oocysts (the parasite's spore-like stage) measure about 24 by 23 micrometers and lack a micropyle or polar granule
Three mitochondrial gene regions were sequenced, placing the new species in its own distinct branch on the family tree, closest to parasites found in cardinal and starling relatives
This is only the third Isospora species ever documented in a cardinalid bird host, and the first in that family confirmed with mitochondrial DNA data
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a new single-celled parasite species living in the gut of a rainforest songbird in Brazil, identified through both its microscopic shape and its DNA.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Isospora habiae n. sp. (Chromista: Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from Red-crowned Ant-tanagers Habia rubica (Vieillot, 1817) (Aves: Passeriformes: Cardinalidae) in South America.
The Red-crowned Ant-tanager Habia rubica (Vieillot, 1817) is a forest-dependent passerine that inhabits the understory of humid forests and is widely distributed throughout Central and South Americ...
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