Intestinal ciliate composition found in the feces of racing horses from Izmir, Turkey

Species composition and distribution of intestinal ciliates were investigated in the feces from 15 racing horses living near Izmir, Turkey. Thirty-seven species belonging to 21 genera were identified. Although no new species were observed, this is the first report on intestinal ciliates in racing horses living in Turkey. The mean number of ciliates was 26.4 ± 13.9 × 104 cells ml−1 of feces and the mean number of ciliate species per host was 18.8 ± 7.1. No ciliates were observed in one horse. Bundleia and Polymorphella were found to be the two dominant genera, occurring in high proportions. In contrast, Didesmis and Prorodonopsis were only observed at a low frequency. Bundleia nana, Blepharoconus hemiciliatus, Paraisotrichopsis composita, Prorodonopsis coli and Spirodinium equi were newly recorded from Turkey.