''Plasmodium floridense'' 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 vert ...

'' subgenus ''

Lacertaemoba ''Lacertamoeba'' is a subgenus of the genus ''Plasmodium'' — all of which are parasites. All species in this subgenus infect reptiles. Taxonomy This subgenus was created by Telford to refine the classification of species then given as ''Plasm ...

''. As in all ''Plasmodium'' species, ''P. floridense'' 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

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

Description

This species was described by Thompson and Huff in 1944. Schizonts are 1.5 -2.0 times the size of the nucleus of an uninfected erythrocyte. They produce 8-24 merozoites. The gametocytes are of a similar size.

Distribution

This organism is found in an area stretching continuously from the southern United States to Panama. It is also found in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Hosts

It infects lizards of the genera '' Anolis'' (''

Anolis carolinensis ''Anolis carolinensis'' or green anole () (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, th ...

'',Perkins S.L., Kerwin A.S., Rothschild A.D. (2008) Patterns of infection of the lizard malaria parasite, ''Plasmodium floridense'', in invasive brown anoles (''Anolis sagrei'') in Southwestern Florida. Parasitol Res. ''

Anolis gundlachi ''Anolis gundlachi'', also commonly known as the yellow-chinned anole, Gundlach's anole, or yellow-beard anole, is an oviparous, sexually dimorphic species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Ri ...

'' Schall J.J., Pearson A.R., Perkins S.L. (2000) Prevalence of malaria parasites (''Plasmodium floridense'' and ''Plasmodium azurophilum'') infecting a Puerto Rican lizard (''Anolis gundlachi''): a nine-year study. J. Parasitol. 86(3):511-515 '' Anolis sabanus'',Staats C.M., Schall J.J. (1996) Distribution and abundance of two malarial parasites of the endemic Anolis lizard of Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. J. Parasitol. 82(3):409-413 '' Anolis sagrei''Perkins S.L., Rothschild A. Waltari E. (2007) Infections of the malaria parasite, ''Plasmodium floridense'', in the invasive anole, ''Anolis sagrei'', in Florida J. Herpetol. 41:750-754.) and ''

Sceloporus undulatus The eastern fence lizard (''Sceloporus undulatus'') is a medium-sized species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Phrynosomatidae. The species is found along forest edges, rock piles, and rotting logs or stumps in the eastern United States. I ...

.'' The prevalence of infection in ''Anolis sagrei'' in Florida is high (46%) but the median parasitaemia in infected hosts is low (0.3%).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasmodium Floridense floridense