51-56 51 M . K . Mohammad Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2001) 9 (3): 51-56 HAEMOPROTEIDS OF THE AVIAN FAMILY RALLIDAE IN IRAQ WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES Mohammad K. Mohammad Iraq Natural History Museum, University of Baghdad, Bab Al-Muadham, Baghdad, Iraq ABSTRACT A survey of haemoproteids among the eight species of Iraq rallids were carried out in the middle, south, and west of Iraq. Two haemoproteods were recorded, Haeomproteus porzanae (Galli-Valerio, 1907) as a new record for Iraq and the new species H. baghdadensis described from Fulica atra L. collected in the middle of Iraq. INTRODUCTION The family Rallidae comprises eight species in Iraq (Allouse, 1962). Five of them are winter migrants while the rest are residents. They inhabit mainly marshes, lakes, and banks of rivers. These ecosystems in Iraq support high vector potentiality in view of the presence of dense vegetation and relatively high temperature. Bennett (1980), in his study of haemoproteids of Rallidae collected from different parts of the world, reported only two species; Haemoproteus gallinulae de Mello, 1935 and H. porzanae (Galli-Vallerio, 1907). Since that no further information were available. It is of interest to study the haemoproteid parasites of Iraq rallids as a good number of specimens were available through the filed trips achieved by the staff of Iraq Natural History Museum. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 236 rallid birds belonging to eight species were collected throughout middle, south and west Iraq during the period March1992 to July 1997. Thin blood smears were made from brachial vein or sometime heart of each bird, air dried, fixed in absolute methanol, and stained with Giemsa’s stain according to protocols of Bennett (1970). The morphometric parameters of both parasites and red blood cells were determined following the methods of Bennett and Campbell (1972) as modified by Forrester et al. (1977) and Mohammad (1996). Drawings were made with the aid of Camera Lucida. The number of examined materials is indicated by N, while the nuclear displacement ratio by NDR. All measurements are presented as means following by standard deviation in parenthesis. RESULTS Table 1 summarizes the results on examining blood smears of rallid birds. This would show that seven species of the examined birds were infected with haemoproteids. The infected birds constitute 8.5% of the total sample. Haemoproteus porzanae (L.) was found infected the rallids, Rallus aquaticus L., Crex crex (L.), Porzana porzana (L.), and Porzana parva (Scopoli). Prevalence of the parasite is light to moderate. The other haemoproteid seems to be new, its decription as follows: Haemoproteus baghdadensis sp. nov. Type host: Fulica atra L. Type locality: Al-Attariya, 45 km SE Baghdad City, middle of Iraq (44◦ 45′ E, 33◦ 15′ N). 52 Haemoproteids of Ralidae Date of collection: August 12, 1995. Immature gametocyte: (figs. 1-2). Youngest forms seen initiate growth in fully mature erythrocytes, mostly lateral but sometimes polar to erythrocyte nucleus in position. The parasite shape is amoeboid. Macrogametocyte: (figs. 3-4 , table 2 ). Parasite small, dumbbell-shaped and almost attached to the lateral margin of erythrocyte. Fully mature macrogametocyte with entire borders and the ends tapering gradually at both ends. Cytoplasm finely granular staining deep blue with Giemsa’s stain. Pigment granules of medium size distributed througout cytoplasm. Parasite nucleus of small size, compact, usually submedium, and staining deep pink with Giemsa’s stain. Microgametocyte: (fig. 5-6, table 2) General shape as macrogametocyte with the usual sexual dimorphic staining characters. Pigment granules of large size distributed throughout cytoplasm. Parasites nucleus of large size, diffuse and ill-defined. Type material: Blood film no. NB527 deposited in the collection of Invertebates and parasitology section, Iraq Natural History Muesum, University of Baghdad taken from coot Fulica atra L. by the author. Paratype material: Blood film no. NB229 from Gallinula chloropus chloropus (L.) collected by the author on Feb. 22, 1996 at Khalis City, Diyala province, middle of Iraq; and blood film no. NB691 from purple gallinule Porphyrio porphyrio (L.) collected by the author on May 17,1996 at Hilla City, Babil province, middle of Iraq. The necessary measurements of parasitized and unparasitized erythrocytes, to examine the hypertrophy, were presented in table 3. Table 1: Species, number, and percentage of infection of rallid birds with haemoproteids. Bird species No. exam. No. inf. % inf. Parasite sp. Rallus aquaticus 12 2 16.6 Haemoproteus porzanae Crex crex 19 3 15.8 Haemoproteus porzanae Porzana porzana 17 2 11.8 Haemoproteus porzanae Porzana parva 16 2 12.5 Haemoproteus porzanae Porzana pusilla 2 - - - Fulica atra 67 6 9 Haemoproteus baghdadensis Gallinula chloropus 83 3 3.6 Haemoproteus baghdadensis Porphyrio porphyrio 22 2 9.1 Haemoproteus baghdadensis Table 2: Measurements of macro- and microgametocytes of Haemoproteus baghdadensis sp. nov. (Figures represent mean of 50 parasites, SD in parentheses). Measurements Macrogametocytes Microgametocytes Parasite Length 13.23 (1.5) 12.10 (2.0) Width 2.15 (0.3) 2.85 (0.4) Area 27.65 32.65 % erythrocyte-parasite complex 55.60 63.42 Parasite nucleus Length 2.8(0.2) 5.33(0.6) Width 2.6 (0.1) 3.1 (0.2) Area 5.95 18.45 % area of parasite 6.50 8.32 No. pigment granules 12.5 (1.5) 11.2 (1.6) 53 M . K . Mohammad Table 3: Comparision of unparasitized and parasitized erythrocytes (no.=50). Measurements Unparasitized erythrocytes Parasitized erythrocytes Macro- Micro- Erythrocyte Length 12.15(0.2) 13.30(0.3) 13.9(0.2) Width 7.25(0.1) 8.55(0.2) 8.78(0.1) Area 61.65(7.8) 73.35(6.5) 73.20(4.6) Erythrocyte nucleus Length 5.8(0.1) 5.5(0.1) 5.3(0.1) Width 2.4(0.1) 2.1(0.1) 2.2(0.1) Area 9.55(1.5) 8.85(1) 10.05(1.5) % area of nucleus to total area 16.33(2.1) 13.45(1.5) 18.25(2.5) NDR - 0.82 0.60 DISCUSSION In view of lacking the necessary information on the distribution of haemoproteid parasites among the members of the avian family Rallidae in Iraq and with describing some other haemoproteid species abroad which proved later to be in synonomy with the previous described ones, this paper is devoted to study the situation of haemoproteids within the Iraqi rallids. Reporting Haemoproteus porzanae constitutes a new record for Iraq, while reporting it from the hosts Rallus aquaticus, Crex crex, Porzana porzana, and Porzana parva are new host records. The haemoproteids status of family Rallidae is of some confusion. Three species were described, Haemoproteus porzanae (Galli-Valerio, 1907) from Porzana pusilla in Tunisia, H. gallinulae de Mello, 1935 from Gallinula chloropus in India, and H. fulicae da Fonseca, 1938 from Fulica atra in India. All of the original descriptions lacked the necessary measurements and also the authors provided no illustrations except for H. gallinulae. Later, Bennett (1980) in his review of the haemoproteids of family Rallidae ascribed only two species, Haemoproteus gallinulae and H. porzanae, considering H. fulicae as a synonym of H. gallinulae. In Iraq Shamsuddin and Mohammad (1980) found no haematozoa in the blood of Gallinula chloropus and Fulica atra. Table 1 showed that four of the winter migratory rallids are infected with Haemoproteus porzanae, while the three resident ones are infected with H. baghdadensis sp. nov. This pattern of infection may be because that the migrants acquired the initial infection in their summer environments and the appropriate intermediate host is not found in Iraq, while the infection of the residents with H. baghdadensis sp. nov. only may suggests that the vector of this parasite is confined to our area. Reporting the present new species from three resident rallid hosts shows strong host-vector interaction and the parasite seems endemic to the local habitat. Haemoproteus baghdadensis sp. nov. is related to but differs from H. porzanae in that, it slightly hypertrophied the parasitized erythrocyte(table 3) and in having more medium size pigment granules instead of large ones. 54 Haemoproteids of Ralidae LITERATURE CITED Allouse, B. E. 1961 Birds of Iraq. Vol. 2. Ar-Rabitta Press, Baghdad, 280 pp. Bennett, G. F. 1970 Simple techniques for making avian blood smears. Canad. J. Zool., 48(3): 585-586. Bennett, G. F. 1980 Avian haemoproteidae. 14. The haemoproteids of the avian family Rallidae. Canad. J. Zool., 58(3):321-325. Bennett, G. F. and Campbell, A. G. 1972 Avian haemoproteidae. 1. Description of Haemoproteus fallisi n. sp. and a review of the haemoproteids of the family Turdidae.Canad. J. Zool., 50:1269-1275. Forrester, D. J., Greiner, E. C., Bennett, G. F. and Kigaye, M. K. 1977 Avian haemoproteidae. 7. A haemoproteidae . 7 . A review of the haemoproteids of the family Ciconiidae (storks) and descriptions of Haemoproteus brodkorbi sp. nov. and H. peircei sp. nov. Canad. J. Zool., 55:1268-1274. Mohammad, M. K. 1996 Haemoproteus burhinus. A new species from the stone curlew, Burhinus oecidnemus saharae (Reichenow) in Iraq. Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus., 8(4): 103-111. Shamsuddin, M. and Mohammad, M. K. 1981 Haematozoa of some Iraqi birds with description of two new species, Haemoproteus pteroclis and Leucocytozoon nycticoraxi (Protozoa, Haemosporina). Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Res. Centre, 7(4):111-154. 55 M . K . Mohammad Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2001) 9 (3): 51-56 في طيور العائلة المرعية في العراق مع وصف ) الهيموبروتيوس(طفيليات األوالي الدموية نوع جديد محمد كاظم محمد العراق –بغداد - باب المعظم- جامعة بغداد- متحف التاريخ الطبيعي الخالصة املرعيـة يف يف مثانية أنواع من الطيور ) اهليموبروتيوس(اجري مسح لطفيليات األوايل الدموية العـراق يفسـجل اثنـان مـن االوايل الدمويـة أحـدمها سـجل ألول مـرة . وسط وجنوب وغرب العراق Haemoproteus porzane فهــو نــوع جديــد للعلــم أمــا اآلخــرH. baghdadensis الــذي وصــف مــن .طري الغر الذي مت مجعه من وسط العراق 56 Haemoproteids of Ralidae