Sporocyst walls of the coccidian parasites Aggregata eberthi and A. octopiana, were subjected to semi-quantitative x-ray elemental microanalysis. Peaks above background level were obtained for Na, P, S and Si in both species, with also a peak for Ca in A. eberthi which was not detectable in A. octopiana. Whilst the amounts of Na, P and S can be considered similar for both species, the relative percentage of Si was 3 times higher in A. eberthi than in A. octopiana. This technique may be useful for distinguishing between the sporocysts of these two species.

This work was partially supported by the Universidad de Vigo under Project 64102C021.

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