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Plasmodium floridense

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plasmodium floridense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Diaphoretickes
Clade: SAR
Clade: Alveolata
Phylum: Apicomplexa
Class: Aconoidasida
Order: Haemospororida
Family: Plasmodiidae
Genus: Plasmodium
Species:
P. floridense
Binomial name
Plasmodium floridense
Thompson and Huff, 1944

Plasmodium floridense is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Lacertaemoba. As in all Plasmodium species, P. floridense has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizards.

Description

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This species was described by Thompson and Huff in 1944.

Schizonts are 1.5 -2.0 times the size of the nucleus of an uninfected erythrocyte. They produce 8-24 merozoites.

The gametocytes are of a similar size.

Distribution

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This organism is found in an area stretching continuously from the southern United States to Panama. It is also found in the Caribbean.

Hosts

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It infects lizards of the genera Anolis (Anolis carolinensis,[1] Anolis gundlachi[2] Anolis sabanus,[3] Anolis sagrei[4]) and Sceloporus undulatus.[1]

The prevalence of infection in Anolis sagrei in Florida is high (46%) but the median parasitaemia in infected hosts is low (0.3%).[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Perkins S.L., Kerwin A.S., Rothschild A.D. (2008) Patterns of infection of the lizard malaria parasite, Plasmodium floridense, in invasive brown anoles (Anolis sagrei) in Southwestern Florida. Parasitol Res.
  2. ^ Schall J.J., Pearson A.R., Perkins S.L. (2000) Prevalence of malaria parasites (Plasmodium floridense and Plasmodium azurophilum) infecting a Puerto Rican lizard (Anolis gundlachi): a nine-year study. J. Parasitol. 86(3):511-515
  3. ^ Staats C.M., Schall J.J. (1996) Distribution and abundance of two malarial parasites of the endemic Anolis lizard of Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. J. Parasitol. 82(3):409-413
  4. ^ Perkins S.L., Rothschild A. Waltari E. (2007) Infections of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium floridense, in the invasive anole, Anolis sagrei, in Florida J. Herpetol. 41:750-754.