Hepatozoon tachyglossi sp. nov. (Haemogregarinidae), a protozoan parasite from the blood of a short-beaked echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus

Hepatozoon tachyglossi sp. nov. is described from monocytes in the peripheral blood of a debilitated short-beaked echidna from the Healesville region of Victoria. Of the Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 species known to occur in Australian native mammals, all of those in marsupials occur in erythrocytes and only H. muris from introduced and native rodents occurs in monocytes. H. tachyglossi is distinguished from H. muris by its larger size and the lack of a capsule.