''Plasmodium draconis'' is a species of

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 ...

n parasite in the family

Plasmodiidae The Plasmodiidae are a family (biology), family of apicomplexan parasites, including the type genus ''Plasmodium'', which is responsible for malaria. This family was erected in 1903 by Mesnil and is one of the four families in the Order (biology) ...

. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. draconis'' 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, ...

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 pairs ...

hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

Description

The parasite was first described by Telford in 1995.Telford S.R. Jr. (1995) ''Plasmodium'' spp. (Apicomplexa: Plasmodiidae) of the flying lizard ''Draco volans'' (Agamidae) Sys. Parasitol. 31 (1) 53-60 The

schizont 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 produce 4–16

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 ...

Distribution

This species is found in the Philippines and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

(Malaysia).

Hosts

The only known host of this species is the flying lizard ''

Draco volans ''Draco volans'', also commonly known as the common flying dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. www.reptile-database.org. Like other members of genus ''Draco'', this species has the ab ...

''.

References

draconis {{plasmodium-stub