''Plasmodium polare'' 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 '' Papernaia''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. polare'' 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

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 lightweigh ...

Description

The parasite was first described by Manwell in 1934.Manwell (1934) The Anatomical Record 60(4): 1 - 101 It is relatively small and produces on the average nine

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 ...

s per infection. It has abundant

cytoplasm In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. The ...

Geographical occurrence

This parasite occurs in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Clinical features and host pathology

Hosts of this species include the bald eagle ('' Haliaeetus leucocephalus''), the barn swallow (''

Hirundo rustica The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

''), yellow wagtails (''

Motacilla flava The western yellow wagtail (''Motacilla flava'') is a small perching bird, passerine in the wagtail family (biology), family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. It ...

'')Valkiunas G, Iezhova TA. (2001) A comparison of the blood parasites in three subspecies of the yellow wagtail ''Motacilla flava''. J. Parasitol. 87(4):930-934. and American cliff swallows ('' Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'').

Related species

It is related to the following species: '' Plasmodium asanum''
''

Plasmodium circumflexum ''Plasmodium circumflexum'' is a parasite of the genus ''Plasmodium'' subgenus '' Giovannolaia''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. circumflexum'' has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are birds. Taxono ...

''
'' Plasmodium durae''
'' Plasmodium fallax''
'' Plasmodium formosanum''
'' Plasmodium gabaldoni''
'' Plasmodium hegneri''
'' Plasmodium lophrae''
'' Plasmodium lophrae''
'' Plasmodium pediocetti''
'' Plasmodium pinotti''

Description

Geographical occurrence

Clinical features and host pathology

Related species

References

Further reading