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Simple Summary  Two stranded striped dolphins presented meningoenchepalitic lesions associated with the presence of unknown protozoan tissue cysts. The present study aimed at fully characterizing these previously undescribed parasites. Light microscopy re-examination of affected CNS areas showed high numbers of tissue cysts with morphological features resembling those of  Sarcocystis  species. Tissue cyst bradyzoites positively stained when labeled with polyclonal antisera but cross-reactivity could not be precluded.  Sarcocystis  sp. sequences with high homology to species infecting livestock were amplified by means of PCR from myocardial and muscle tissues. This is the first report of  Sarcocystis -like tissue cysts in the cerebral tissue of stranded cetaceans with muscular sarcocystosis in Mediterranean dolphins. The obtained results may suggest a land-to-sea cycling of Apicomplexan parasites in this region and the need for further investigations in order to foster marine mammal conservation.    Abstract  Two striped dolphins (SD1, SD2), stranded along the Ligurian coast of Italy, were diagnosed with a nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis associated with previously undescribed protozoan tissue cysts. As tissue cysts were morphologically different from those of  Toxoplasma gondii , additional histopathological, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and biomolecular investigations were performed, aiming to fully characterize the organism. Histopathology revealed the presence of large  Sarcocystis -like tissue cysts, associated with limited inflammatory lesions in all CNS areas studied. IHC was inconclusive, as positive staining with polyclonal antisera did not preclude cross-reaction with other Sarcocystidae coccidia. Applied to each animal, 11 different PCR protocols precluded a neural infection by  Sarcocystis neurona, Sarcocystis falcatula, Hammondia hammondi , and  Neospora caninum .  T. gondii  coinfection was confirmed only in dolphin SD2.  Sarcocystis  sp. sequences, showing the highest homology to species infecting the Bovidae family, were amplified from SD1 myocardium and SD2 skeletal muscle. The present study represents the first report of  Sarcocystis -like tissue cysts in the brain of stranded cetaceans along with the first description of  Sarcocystis  sp. infection in muscle tissue of dolphins from the Mediterranean basin.

Evidence for Unknown Sarcocystis-Like Infection in Stranded Striped Dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Ligurian Sea, Italy