''Babesiosoma'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of parasitic

alveolates The alveolates (meaning "pitted like a honeycomb") are a group of protists, considered a major clade and superphylum within Eukarya. They are currently grouped with the stramenopiles and Rhizaria among the protists with tubulocristate mitochondr ...

in the

phylum In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature f ...

Apicomplexia The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic Alveolata, alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex stru ...

. They have two hosts in their life cycle: the

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

hosts are

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and the invertebrate vectors are

leech Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...

es. This genus has been poorly studied and little is known about it.

History

The genus was created in 1956 by Jakowski and Nigrelli.Jakowska S, Nigrelli RF (1956)Some protozoan diseases of man and animals: Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Toxoplasmosis. Annal NY Acad Sci 64, 112–127 Seven species have been recognised in this genus.Misra KK, Haldar DP, Chakravarty MM (1969) ''Babesiosoma ophicephali'' n. sp. from the freshwater teleost ''Ophicephalus punctatus'' Bloch. J Protozool 16(3):446-449Negm-Eldin MM (1998) Life cycle, host restriction and longevity of ''Babesiosoma mariae'' HOARE, 1930 (Apicomplexa: Dactylosomatidae). Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr 105(10):367-374Smit NJ, Van As JG, Davies AJ (2003) Observations on ''Babesiosoma mariae'' (Apicomplexa: Dactylosomatidae) from the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Folia Parasitol (Praha) 50(1):85-86 Meronts: These develop in

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 and divide to produce four small

merozoite 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 is ...

s, characteristically in a cruciform or rosette arrangement.

Gametocyte A gametocyte is a eukaryotic germ cell that divides by mitosis into other gametocytes or by meiosis into gametids during gametogenesis. Male gametocytes are called ''spermatocytes'', and female gametocytes are called ''oocytes''. Development ...

s: These are larger and more elongated than the meronts and are generally club-shaped.

References

Apicomplexa genera {{Apicomplexa-stub