Plasmodium giganteum
Species of single-celled organism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plasmodium giganteum is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Sauramoeba. As in all Plasmodium species, P. giganteum has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are reptiles.
| Plasmodium giganteum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Supergroup: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Aconoidasida |
| Order: | Haemospororida |
| Family: | Plasmodiidae |
| Genus: | Plasmodium |
| Species: | P. giganteum |
| Binomial name | |
| Plasmodium giganteum Theiler, 1930 | |
Taxonomy
The parasite was first described by Theiler in 1930.[citation needed]
Description
Plasmodium giganteum blood-stage parasites are described as being 2 to 6 times as large as the host cell nucleus. The gametocytes are round and elongated.[1]
Distribution
Hosts
Plasmodium giganteum infects the rainbow lizard (Agama agama), as well as Agama mossambica and Agama cyanogaster.[1]
