''Ovivora'' 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 ...
in 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.
History
This genus was created by Mackinnon and Ray in 1937.
[McKinnon DL, Ray HN (1937) A coccidian from the eggs of ''Thalassema neptuni'' Gaertner. Parasitology 29: 457-468]
This species was earlier described by Lankester and named ''Monocystis thalassemae''.
Taxonomy
There is one species recognised in this genus.
Description
This species infects the eggs of the
echiuroid worm (''
Thalassema neptuni''). This occurs while the eggs are within the genital pouches (nephridial sacs).
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 ...
and
sporogony
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 ...
both occur within the eggs.
The mature sexual parasites are vermiform and immobile. The males are smaller than the females. The
microgametocyte, when it becomes spherical, gives rise to numerous, elongate