The Exoschizonidae are a family 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 ...

Apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic 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 structure. T ...

History

This family was created by Levine in 1971.Levine ND (1971) Taxonomy of the Archigregarinorida and Selenidiidae (Protozoa, Apicomplexa) J Euk Microbiol 18 (4) 704–717

Taxonomy

There is one

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 ...

currently recognised in this family - '' Exoschizon''. This genus has only one species - '' Exoschizon siphonosomae'' - which was described by Hukui in 1939.Hukui (1939) J Fac Sci Hiroshima Univ 7: 17

Description

This species was found in the

intestine The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans ...

of a sipunculid worm ('' Siphonosoma cumanense'') in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The

meront 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 measure . There are ~13 longitudinal striations per side. The meronts and gamonts are similarly shaped. Transmission is presumably by the orofaecal route.

References

Apicomplexa families {{Apicomplexa-stub