''Sauramoeba'' is a subgenus of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 ver ...

'', all of which are parasitic eukaryotes. The subgenus was created in 1966 by Garnham.

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in this subgenus infect reptiles.

Description

The original criterion for inclusion in this genus was the presence of large

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 giving rise to 12 or more merozoites. The criteria were subsequently revised by Telford in 1988. The type species of this subgenus is ''

Plasmodium diploglossi ''Plasmodium diploglossi'' is a parasite of the genus ''Plasmodium'' subgenus '' Sauramoeba''. As in all ''Plasmodium'' species, ''P. diploglossi'' has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are reptiles. Taxo ...

''. Species in the subgenus ''Sauramoeba'' have the following characteristics: Large schizonts giving rise to 12 or more merozoites The gametocytes like the schizonts are large.

Species

References

Plasmodium subgenera {{plasmodium-stub