''Plasmodium voltaicum'' 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 ''

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. voltaicum'' 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

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 ...

Taxonomy

The parasite was first described by Van Der Kaay in 1964.Van Der Kaay H.J.(1964) Description of a new plasmodium, ''Plasmodium voltaicum'' ''sp. nov.'', found in a fruit-bat, ''Roussettus smithi'', in Ghana. Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol. 58:261-264

Distribution

This species is found in Congo-Brazzaville and Ghana.

Hosts

The only known host is the fruit bat '' Roussettus smithi''.

References

voltaicum {{plasmodium-stub