Title | Plasmodium dominicana n. sp (Plasmodiidae : Haemospororida) from Tertiary Dominican amber |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2005 |
Authors | Poinar, GO |
Journal | Systematic Parasitology |
Volume | 61 |
Pagination | 47-52 |
Type of Article | Journal Article |
ISSN | 0165-5752 |
Abstract | Plasmodium dominicana n. sp. is described from Tertiary Dominican Republic amber. The description is based on oocysts, sporozoites and possible microgametes and an ookinete in the body-cavity of a female Culex mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae: Culicinae). The large pedunculated oocysts, together with the culicine vector, align the fossil with the extant avain malaria species, P. juxtanucleare Versiani & Gomes, 1941. Based on the host range of P. juxtanucleare, a possible primary host would have been a member of the order Galliformes. This discovery establishes a minimum age for the genus Plasmodium Marchiafava & Celli, 1885 and places avian malaria in the Americas by the mid-Tertiary. It also supports earlier theories that some species of primate malaria could have evolved in the Americas. |
URL | <Go to ISI>://WOS:000229509800002 |
DOI | 10.1007/s11230-004-6354-6 |