''Plasmodium narayani'' is a parasite of the genus ''
Plasmodium'' subgenus ''
Vinckeia
''Vinckeia'' is a subgenus of the genus ''Plasmodium'' — all of which are parasitic alveolates. The subgenus ''Vinckeia'' was created by Cyril Garnham in 1964 to accommodate the mammalian parasites other than those infecting the primates.
Di ...
''. As in all ''Plasmodium'' species, ''P. narayani'' has both
vertebrate and
insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s.
Taxonomy
The parasite was first described by de Mello and Diaz in 1936.
[de Mello F., Diaz E. (1936) ''Plasmodium narayani'' n.sp., parasite of the fish otter ''Lutea lutra''. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. B 3:212-213.]
This parasite has only been described on one occasion. The description is incomplete and this species should be regarded as being of dubious validity until further work has confirmed or refuted these findings.
Description
As described the schizonts were annular and amoeboid and between 1/5 and 1/6 of the erythrocyte in size. Black pigment was seen. 9-11 merozoites per schizont were seen. The gametocytes were oval. No granules or dots were seen in the erythrocytes.
Distribution
This parasite is found in India.
Vectors
Not known.
Hosts
This species infects the otter (''
Lutea lutra'').
References
narayani Narayani may refer to:
* Narayani (deity), another name for Lakshmi
* Narayani, an epithet of Yogamaya
* Narayani River, or Gandaki River, in Nepal
* Narayani Temple
Narayani Temple is dedicated to ten armed goddess Narayani or Parvathi and is l ...
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