Flashcards on Hemoparasites of Reptiles
Hemoparasites of Reptiles: Plasmodium Species Overview
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Plasmodiid parasites
402 cards
Card 1
Question: When were the first reptilian malarial parasites recognized and which researcher reported Plasmodium agamae and P. mabuiae in Sudanese lizards?
Answer: In the first decade of the 20th century; Wenyon (1909a) reported Plasmodium agamae and P. mabuiae in agamid and scincid lizards of the Sudan.
Card 2
Question: Which two Plasmodium species from Brazilian lizards were described in 1909 with priority to Wenyon's discovery?
Answer: Plasmodium diploglossi and Plasmodium tropiduri (Aragão and Neiva, 1909).
Card 3
Question: How many reptilian Plasmodium species and subspecies were recognized by Garnham in 1966?
Answer: 29 species and subspecies were recognized by Garnham in 1966.
Card 4
Question: How did the number of known reptilian plasmodiid taxa change from 1966 to 1989 and then to 2007?
Answer: By 1989 there were 87 taxa known (Telford, 1994). By 2007 there were 101 Plasmodium sensu stricto species/subspecies described or under description, p
Card 5
Question: Which related genera and approximate species counts were listed alongside Plasmodium by 2007?
Answer: Garnia (10), Fallisia (10), Haemocystidium (14), Saurocytozoon (2), and Progarnia (1).
Card 6
Question: What largely contributed to the proliferation of described reptilian plasmodiid species after the 1960s?
Answer: Long-term residence in endemic areas by parasitologists allowing extensive collections, rather than brief visits by traveling scientists.
Card 7
Question: What shift in research focus regarding reptilian plasmodiids occurred more recently (after taxonomic studies)?
Answer: Interest shifted to using plasmodiids as examples supporting ecological theory, and more recently to genomic analyses.
Card 8
Question: Why do the authors say genomic analysis results remain 'tantalizing but far from definitive' for plasmodiid systematics?
Answer: Because a broad spectrum of known species has not yet been studied genomically, so systematics/phylogenetic relationships must still rely on morpholog
Card 9
Question: Before 1970, what aspect of saurian Plasmodium species life cycles remained unknown?
Answer: The complete sporogony (development in the insect vector) of a saurian Plasmodium species remained unknown until 1970.
Card 10
Question: What early observations suggested possible mosquito involvement in saurian Plasmodium sporogony?
Answer: Occasional reports of oocysts on the midguts of culicine mosquitoes after experimental feedings on infected lizards, such as an oocyst on Aedes aegypt