Rumen ciliate (Protista:Ciliophora) fauna of goat (Capra aegagrus hircus Linnaeus, 1758) in Libya

Rumen ciliate species was surveyed on 16 domestic goats (Capra aegagrus hircus Linnaeus, 1758) living in Libya. As a result, sixteen species and 9 morphotypes in 9 genera were identified. The average density of ciliates in the rumen contents from the 16 domestic goats was 106,5 ± 97,4 ×104 cells ml−1. Values ranged from 3,0 to 332,0×104 cells ml−1. It was higher than of other goat hosts reported from Turkey and the world. All of the ciliate species detected from the Libyan domestic goats in this study were so little and there are no new species in this study. The majority of ciliates found in all 16 animals were Entodinium species, which vary from 37,5% to 100% of the total protozoa. Species that had the lowest frequency of appearance in this study was Enoploplastron triloricatum 6,2%. For individual animals, the total number of species ranged from 4 to 15, with an average of 9,0 ± 2,8 (SD).