Plasmodium floridense
Encyclopedia
Plasmodium floridense is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium
subgenus Lacertaemoba
.
Like all Plasmodium species P. floridense has both vertebrate
and insect
hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizard
s.
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.
to Panama
. It is also found in the Caribbean
.
(Anolis carolinensis,Anolis gundlachi, Anolis sabanus , Anolis sagrei) and Sceloporus undulatus.
The prevalence of infection in Anolis sagrei in Florida is high (46%) but the median parasitaemia in infected hosts is low (0.3%).
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...
subgenus Lacertaemoba
Lacertaemoba
Lacertaemoba is a subgenus of the genus Plasmodium - all of which are parasitic protozoa. All species in this subgenus infect reptiles.This subgenus was created by Telford to refine the classification of species then given as Plasmodium tropiduri...
.
Like all Plasmodium species P. floridense has both vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s.
Description
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.
Geographical occurrence
This organism is found in an area stretching continuously from the southern United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. It is also found in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Clinical features and host pathology
It infects lizards of the genera AnolisAnolis
Anolis is a genus of lizards belonging to the family Polychrotidae. With nearly 400 species, Anolis represents the world's most species rich amniote genus. Several species of Anolis are occasionally ascribed to the genus Norops, but the validity of the Norops genus is not widely accepted...
(Anolis carolinensis,Anolis gundlachi, Anolis sabanus , Anolis sagrei) and Sceloporus undulatus.
The prevalence of infection in Anolis sagrei in Florida is high (46%) but the median parasitaemia in infected hosts is low (0.3%).