Fecal ciliate composition of Cypriot domestic horses (Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758)

Authors: BAYRAM GÖÇMEN, GÖZDE GÜRELLİ, BURK A. DEHORITY

Abstract: The species composition and distribution of large intestinal ciliates was investigated in feces from 5 Cypriot domestic horses living in Northern Cyprus. We identified 9 ciliate genera and 11 species. This is the first report on intestinal ciliates in Cypriot domestic horses, and no endemic species were observed. The genera Cycloposthium, Spirodinium, and Paraisotricha occurred in all animals. The mean number of ciliates was (5.5 ± 4.4) × 10^4 cells mL^-^1 of feces and the mean number of ciliate species per host was 7.2 ± 1.5. The characteristics of the domestic horse ciliates were almost identical to those reported in other equids from various regions around the world, suggesting that there is little or no pronounced geographic variation in the intestinal ciliate fauna of equids.

Keywords: Intestinal ciliates, Cyprus, domestic horse, Equus caballus, feces

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