Fig. 1a–e

Stages of Sarcocystis attenuati n. sp. a Light micrograph of a sarcocyst from a fresh sample of skeletal muscle of an infected Asian gray shrew Crocidura attenuata (unstained). Note the saw- or tooth-like villous protrusions (arrow). Scale bar 20 μm. b Transmission electron micrograph of the cyst wall of a sarcocyst in longitudinal section. Note the lancet- or leaf-like villous protrusion (vp), lined with an electron-dense layer (edl). The ground substance (gs) is located beneath the vp and bradyzoites (bz) within the sarcocyst. Scale bar 2 μm. c Transmission electron micrograph of the cyst wall of a sarcocyst in cross-section. Note the minute undulations over the surface of the vp (arrowhead). Scale bar 2 μm. d Light micrograph of sporulated oocysts in the feces of experimentally infected beauty rat snakes Elaphe taeniura. Scale bar 10 μm. e Light micrograph of a sporocyst in the feces of an experimentally infected beauty rat snake. Scale bar 10 μm