''Plasmodium floridense'' 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 '' Lacertaemoba''. As in all ''Plasmodium'' species, ''P. floridense'' 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

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 al ...

Description

This species was described by Thompson and Huff in 1944. Schizonts are 1.5 -2.0 times the size of the nucleus of an uninfected erythrocyte. They produce 8-24 merozoites. The gametocytes are of a similar size.

Distribution

This organism is found in an area stretching continuously from the southern United States to Panama. It is also found in the Caribbean.

Hosts

It infects lizards of the genera ''

Anolis ''Anolis'' is a genus of anoles (), iguanian lizards in the family Dactyloidae, native to the Americas. With more than 425 species, it represents the world's most species-rich amniote tetrapod genus, although many of these have been proposed t ...

'' ('' Anolis carolinensis'',Perkins S.L., Kerwin A.S., Rothschild A.D. (2008) Patterns of infection of the lizard malaria parasite, ''Plasmodium floridense'', in invasive brown anoles (''Anolis sagrei'') in Southwestern Florida. Parasitol Res. ''

Anolis gundlachi ''Anolis gundlachi'', also commonly known as the yellow-chinned anole, Gundlach's anole, or yellow-beard anole, is an oviparous, sexually dimorphic species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico and lives in mo ...

'' Schall J.J., Pearson A.R., Perkins S.L. (2000) Prevalence of malaria parasites (''Plasmodium floridense'' and ''Plasmodium azurophilum'') infecting a Puerto Rican lizard (''Anolis gundlachi''): a nine-year study. J. Parasitol. 86(3):511-515 ''

Anolis sabanus Anolis sabanus, the Saba anole or Saban anole, is a species of anole lizard that is endemic to the island of Saba, a Dutch municipality in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. Males measure from (snout-to-vent), and females measure from .Staats, C. ...

'',Staats C.M., Schall J.J. (1996) Distribution and abundance of two malarial parasites of the endemic Anolis lizard of Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. J. Parasitol. 82(3):409-413 ''

Anolis sagrei The brown anole (''Anolis sagrei''), also known commonly as the Cuban brown anole, or De la Sagra's anole, is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, ...

''Perkins S.L., Rothschild A. Waltari E. (2007) Infections of the malaria parasite, ''Plasmodium floridense'', in the invasive anole, ''Anolis sagrei'', in Florida J. Herpetol. 41:750-754.) and '' Sceloporus undulatus.'' The prevalence of infection in ''Anolis sagrei'' in Florida is high (46%) but the median parasitaemia in infected hosts is low (0.3%).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasmodium Floridense floridense