Laverania
Encyclopedia
Laverania is a subgenus of the genus
Plasmodium
. The subgenus was created in 1958 by Bray.
The name was first proposed by Welch in 1897 as a genus name for the group now known as Plasmodium but for a variety of reasons the genus name Plasmodium was preferred.
The other two species - P. rhodaini and P. schwetzi - have since been placed in the subgenus Plasmodium.
The noticeable differences between P falciraum and the other known Plasmodium species lead to the proposal that it be placed in a separate genus Laverina. This suggestion was not accepted but the proposed name is now used as the subgenus.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Plasmodium
Plasmodium
Plasmodium is a genus of parasitic protists. Infection by these organisms is known as malaria. The genus Plasmodium was described in 1885 by Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli. Currently over 200 species of this genus are recognized and new species continue to be described.Of the over 200 known...
. The subgenus was created in 1958 by Bray.
The name was first proposed by Welch in 1897 as a genus name for the group now known as Plasmodium but for a variety of reasons the genus name Plasmodium was preferred.
History
The first non human primate parasites were described by Eduard Reichenow in Cameroon in 1920. He observed in 1917 three morphologically distinct Plasmodium parasites in the blood of chimpanzees and gorillas.. These finding were later confirmed by other workers. One species closely resembled P. falciparum and was thought to be the same species. This species was later renamed P. reichenowi.The other two species - P. rhodaini and P. schwetzi - have since been placed in the subgenus Plasmodium.
The noticeable differences between P falciraum and the other known Plasmodium species lead to the proposal that it be placed in a separate genus Laverina. This suggestion was not accepted but the proposed name is now used as the subgenus.
Species in this subgenus
It has been proposed to rename P. gora and P. gorb as Plasmodium adleri and Plasmodium blacklocki respectively. It has also been proposed that P. billbrayi be considered a junior synonom of P. gaboni.- Plasmodium billcollinsi
- Plasmodium billbrayi
- Plasmodium falciparumPlasmodium falciparumPlasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria caused by this species is the most dangerous form of malaria, with the highest rates of complications and mortality...
- Plasmodium gaboni
- Plasmodium gora
- Plasmodium gorb
- Plasmodium reichenowi