''Anthemosoma'' is a genus of parasites of the phylum Apicomplexa. There is only one species recognised in this genus - a parasite of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

History

The genus was described in 1969 by Landau, Boulard and Housin.Landau I, Boulard Y, Housin R. (1969) ''Anthemosoma garnhami'' n. g. n. sp., 1st ''Dactylosomidae'' known in mammals. C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D. 268(5):873-875

Description

Although

polar ring Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates * Polar climate, the c ...

s and

rhoptries A rhoptry is a specialized secretory organelle. They are club-shaped organelles connected by thin necks to the extreme apical pole of the parasite. These organelles, like micronemes, are characteristic of the motile stages of Apicomplexa protoz ...

are present other typical Apicomplexian features including conoid,

flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

oocyst Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

s, sporocysts and pseudocysts are absent. The species parasitises

erythrocyte Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

s. It is heteroxenous with merogony and

gamogony Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

in the vertebrate host. Fertilization and sporogony in the invertebrate host. Meronts: These occur in erythrocytes. 5-32 merozoites are produced by budding. Gamonts: These are spheroid or ovoid.

References

Piroplasmida Apicomplexa genera Parasites of mammals {{Apicomplexa-stub