The First Record of Intestinal Ciliates from the Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) in South Africa

Abstract

This paper is a first report on species of endosymbiotic ciliates (Litostomatea, Trichostomatia) inhabiting the intestine of zebras in South Africa. Ciliates from Mountain Zebra were investigated for the first time in the world. The wild population of mountain zebras in general and the Cape Mountain Zebra subspecies in particular is low in numbers: this species is included as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. Approximately 15 species of trichostome ciliates from 9 different genera were found in the samples collected from wild zebras in Western Cape, South Africa. Some of the ciliate species are also common to horses and other equids, while others are unique for zebras. The ciliates of Triplumaria genus common to elephants and rhinoceroses, and the species Blepharosphaera ceratotherii previously described in rhinoceroses were found in equids for the first time.