Hepatozoon sauromali sp. n., a Hemogregarine from the Chuckwalla (Sauromalus spp.) with Notes on the Life History

A saurian hemogregarine, Hepatozoon sauromali sp. n., is described from the chuckwalla Sauromalus spp. collected in Baja California, Mexico, and California. Gametocytes develop in the erythrocytes and schizogony takes place in the liver. The number of merozoites in the mature schizont averages 24. The vector of the parasite is a new species of mite of the genus Hirstiella. Transmission is by the oral route. Sporogony takes place in the mite's body cavity. The large oocysts contain sporocysts, each of which has approximately 12 sporozoites. Mites which had been permitted to engorge on parasitized chuckwallas were fed to clean Sceloporus lizards. These showed blood cell infections 30 days later. The name hemogregarine is in common usage for a number of organisms belonging to different genera; some of these organisms have been arbitrarily placed in a genus solely on the morphology of the parasite in the blood of the vertebrate host. Although hemogregarines have been reported from a number of saurian hosts, in the majority of instances only the forms in the peripheral blood have been