show Abstracthide AbstractBabesia sp. Xinjiang is a “large” Babesia species of sheep and other small ruminants in the Kashi prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. This haematoprotozoan parasite belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa and is genetically distinct from other recognized species of Babesia from sheep (e.g., B. motasi, B. ovis and B. crassa) and from other host animals. This parasite is non-pathogenic in sheep, but causes classical symptoms of babesiosis, such as fever, anaemia, icterus and haemoglobinuria, in experimentally infected, splenectomized sheep.