Biological Diversity of Causative Agents of Eimeriosis in Rabbits in the Foothills of Armenia

Studies on the distribution of Eimeria in rabbits were performed during the years 2020–2021 in foothills of Armenia based on the station of the Russian–Armenian Center of Zoology and Parasitology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology, National Academy of Science of the Republic of Armenia. In the farms studied, seven species of the causative agents of eimerioses were found (g. Eimeria Schneider, 1875): E. coecicola Cheissin 1947, E. exigua Yakimoff, 1934, E. irresidua Kessel & Jankiewicz, 1931, E. magna Pérard, 1925, E. media Kessel, 1929, E. perforans (Leuckart, 1879) Sluiter et Swellengrebel, 1912, E. stiedae (Lindemann, 1865) Kisskalt et Hartmann, 1907, and a giant form we have also detected before which we denoted as Eimeria sp. This work describes the frequencies of appearance of the species of the genus Eimeria detected dependent on the season. The life cycles have been studied, and the roles various species play as causative agents have been established.