''Plasmodium lutzi'' 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 Hematophagy, blood-feeding insect host (biology), host which then inj ...

'' subgenus '' Haemamoeba''. Like all ''Plasmodium'' species ''P. lutzi'' has both

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

Taxonomy

The parasite was first described by Lucena in 1939.

Distribution

This parasite is found in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

Hosts

This parasite has been reported to infect the grey-cowled wood rail ('' Aramides cajaneus)'' and the great thrush ('' Turdus fuscater'').Mantilla Granados JS, Matta NE, Pacheco MA, Escalante A, Gonzalez AD, Moncada LI (2013) Identification of ''Plasmodium (Haemamoeba) lutzi'' (Lucena, 1939) from ''Turdus fuscater'' (great thrush) in Colombia. J Parasitol

References

lutzi Parasites of birds {{plasmodium-stub