Cometoides pechumani sp.n. (Protozoa: Eugregarinida), a gregarine parasite of salt marsh deerflies (Diptera: Tabanidae)

Cometoides pechumani n.sp. is described from larvae and adults of Chrysops fuliginosus and from a pupa of C. atlanticus in the USA. Stages of the gregarine were found in the fore-, mid-, and hindguts. The globular to spherical epimerite possessed at least 14 long filaments. The cephalic sporadins were elongate, cylindrical, and tapered. Mean length was 998 mu m. Mean diameters of the gametocysts were 519.8 X 558 mu m. Oocysts (spores) were hexagonal in outline with polar spines and 2 bands of equatorial spines. Their mean length and width were 7.35 X 4.32 mu m. Incidence of infection of field-collected C. fuliginosus larvae was greatest in summer when rates were as high as 89%. Infection during winter ranged from 30 to 58%. Incidence of infection of adult C. fuliginosus never exceeded 7%. The gametocysts of the new species are considerably larger than those described for the 4 other species in this genus, which were all found in beetles.