''Plasmodium bigueti'' is a parasite of the genus ''

Plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a ver ...

''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. bigueti'' has both

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, with c ...

and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

Description

The parasite was first described by Landau ''et al.'' in 2003.Landau I., Chabaud A. G., Bertani S., Snounou G. (2003) Taxonomic status and re-description of ''Plasmodium relictum'' (Grassi et Feletti, 1891), ''Plasmodium maior'' Raffaele, 1931, and description of ''P. bigueti'' n. sp. in sparrows. Parassitologia. 45 (3-4):119-123

Geographical occurrence

This species was described in France.

Clinical features and host pathology

The only known host is the sparrow (''

Passer domesticus The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, an ...

'').

References

bigueti Taxa named by Alain Chabaud {{plasmodium-stub