Sauroplasma is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of parasites of the

phylum In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature f ...

Apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia) are a large phylum of parasitic alveolates. Most of them possess a unique form of organelle that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an apicoplast, and an apical complex structure. T ...

. Species in this genus have two hosts (a

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 an

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

) in their life cycle: for species in this genus the

host 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 ...

s. The vectors are not known but

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

s have been suggested as possible hosts. The type species is ''Sauroplasma thomasi''.

History

This genus was described in 1938 by du Toit.

Description

To date this species has been described from

erythrocyte Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...

s only. The parasites are amoeboid but frequently adopt a ring shape. A vacuole is present and occasionally one or more pigment granules.

Schizogony Fission, in biology, is the division of a single entity into two or more parts and the regeneration of those parts to separate entities resembling the original. The object experiencing fission is usually a cell, but the term may also refer to how ...

is absent. Binary fission or budding into two daughter cells occurs.

Host records

* ''S. boreale'' - sand lizard (''

Lacerta agilis The sand lizard (''Lacerta agilis'') is a Lacertidae, lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe from France and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the ...

'') *''S. thomasi'' - great girdled lizard ('' Zonurus giganteus'') Unknown species *

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n iguana (''

Cyclura collei The Jamaican iguana (''Cyclura collei''), also known commonly as Colley's iguana, is a large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to Jamaica. It is critically endangered, even considered extinct between 1948 and 1990. ...

'') *

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles ( ...

iguana (''

Cyclura lewisi The blue iguana (''Cyclura lewisi''), also known as the Grand Cayman ground iguana, Grand Cayman blue iguana or Cayman Island rock iguana, is an endangered species of lizard which is endemic to the island of Grand Cayman. It was previously cons ...

'') *

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n rock iguana (''

Cyclura nubila The Cuban rock iguana (''Cyclura nubila''), also known as the Cuban ground iguana or Cuban iguana, is a species of lizard of the iguana family. It is the second largest of the West Indian rock iguanas (genus ''Cyclura''), one of the most en ...

'') * leaf-tailed gecko (''

Uroplatus fimbriatus The common flat-tail gecko (''Uroplatus fimbriatus'') is a gecko endemic to Madagascar. It is found in eastern Madagascar and on the islands Nosy Bohara and Nosy Mangabe. These geckos live in tropical rain forests. They reach a total length of ...

'')

References

Piroplasmida Apicomplexa genera Parasites of lizards {{Apicomplexa-stub