''Plasmodium pinotti'' 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 '' Giovannolaia''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. pinotti'' has both

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxon, taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with vertebral column, backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the ...

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 lightweig ...

Description

The parasite was first described by Muniz and Soares in 1954. It was named after

Mario Pinotti Mario Pinotti (21 January 1894 – 3 March 1972) was a Brazilian medic and sanitarist. As director of the Brazilian National Malaria Service, Maio Pinotti pioneered chloroquinized salt in Brazil during the early 1950s in order to eradicate malari ...

Geographical occurrence

This species is found in

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 Hispan ...

Clinical features and host pathology

Known hosts of this species include the bananaquit (''

Coereba flaveola The bananaquit (''Coereba flaveola'') is a species of passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. Before the development of molecular genetics in the 21st century, its relationship to other species was uncertain and it was either placed wi ...

''), orangequit (''

Euneornis campestris The orangequit (''Euneornis campestris'') is a species of passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus ''Euneornis''. It is endemic to Jamaica where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist l ...

''), yellow-shouldered grassquit (''

Loxipasser anoxanthus The yellow-shouldered grassquit (''Loxipasser anoxanthus'') is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae that is endemic to Jamaica. It is the only member of the genus ''Loxipasser''. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mo ...

''), large toucan (''

Ramphastos toco The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

'') and black-faced grassquit (''

Tiaris bicolor The black-faced grassquit (''Melanospiza bicolor'') is a small bird. It is recognized as a tanager closely related to Darwin's finches. It breeds in the West Indies except Cuba, on Tobago but not Trinidad, and along the northern coasts of Colomb ...

'').

References

pinotti Parasites of birds {{plasmodium-stub