Eimeria is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that includes various species capable of causing the disease coccidiosis in animals such as cattle, poultry, dogs, cats, and smaller ruminants including sheep and goats. Eimeria species are considered to be monoxenous because the life cycle is completed within a single host, and stenoxenous because they tend to be host specific, although a number of exceptions have been identified. Species of this genus infect a wide variety of hosts. Thirty-one species are known to occur in bats (Chiroptera), two in turtles, and 130 named species infect fish. Two species infect seals. Five species infect llamas and alpacas: E. alpacae, E. ivitaensis, E. lamae, E. macusaniensis, and E. punonensis. A number of species infect rodents, including E. couesii, E. kinsellai, E. palustris, E. ojastii and E. oryzomysi. Others infect poultry, rabbits and cattle. For full species list, see below.
Micronemes are secretory organelles, possessed by parasitic apicomplexans. Micronemes are located on the apical third of the protozoan body. They are surrounded by a typical unit membrane. On electron microscopy they have an electron-dense matrix due to the high protein content. They are specialized secretory organelles important for host-cell invasion and gliding motility.
Plasmodium cnemidophori is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Sauramoeba. As in all Plasmodium species, P. cnemidophori has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are lizards.
Plasmodium kentropyxi is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Sauramoeba.
Eimeria bufomarini is a species of coccidium, known to infect the epithelial cells of the intestines of Brazilian cane toads.
Plasmodium neusticuri is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium.
Adeleorina is a suborder of parasites in the phylum Apicomplexa.
Karyolysus is a genus of coccidia. With the exception of K. sonomae whose vertebrate host is the yellow-legged frog, species in this genus only infect lizards of the genus Lacerta.
Eimeriidae is a family of Apicomplexa. It contains the following genera:
Choleoeimeria is a genus of alveolate parasites that infect the biliary tracts of reptiles. Morphologically they are similar to the Eimeria, to whom they are closely related. The genus was described in 1989 by Paperna and Landsberg.
Plasmodium carmelinoi is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium.
The genus Polychromophilus consists of obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasites that infect bats from every continent except Antarctica. They are transmitted by bat flies, which act as an insect vector as well as the parasite’s site of sporogeny. Polychromophilus follows a fairly typical Haemospororidian lifecycle, with gametocytes and gametes restricted to the bloodstream of the host and meronts infecting organs – most notably the lungs and the liver. The type species is Polychromophilus melanipherus, and was described by Dionisi in 1898.
Goussia is a taxonomic genus, first described in 1896 by Labbé, containing parasitic protists which largely target fish and amphibians as their hosts. Members of this genus are homoxenous and often reside in the gastrointestinal tract of the host, however others may be found in organs such as the gallbladder or liver. The genera Goussia, as current phylogenies indicate, is part of the class Conoidasida, which is a subset of the parasitic phylum Apicomplexa; features of this phylum, such as a distinct apical complex containing specialized secretory organelles, an apical polar ring, and a conoid are all present within Goussia, and assist in the mechanical invasion of host tissue. The name Goussia is derived from the French word gousse, meaning pod. This name is based on the bi-valve sporocyst morphology which some Goussians display. Of the original 8 classified Goussians, 6 fit the “pod” morphology. As of this writing, the genera consists of 59 individual species.
Hemolivia is a genus of the phylum Apicomplexia.
The genus Schellackia comprises obligate unicellular eukaryotic parasites within the phylum Apicomplexa, and infects numerous species of lizards and amphibians worldwide. Schellackia is transmitted via insect vectors, primarily mites and mosquitoes, which take up the parasite in blood meals. These vectors then subsequently infect reptilian and amphibian which consume the infected insects. The parasites deform erythrocytes of the host into crescents, and can be visualised using a blood smear.
Hoarella is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. This genus infects reptiles.
Atoxoplasma is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. The species in this genus infect birds. They are spread by the orofaecal route.
Epieimeria is a genus of parasitic alveaolates of the phylum Apicomplexa.
Rastrimonas is a monotypic genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. It contains the single species Rastrimonas subtilis. It was described in 2002 from the free-living cryptomonad Chilomonas paramaecium and placed in the new genus Cryptophagus. The following year this was renamed Rastrimonas.
The parasitophorous vacuole (PV) is a structure produced by apicomplexan parasites in the cells of its host. The PV allows the parasite to develop while protected from the phagolysosomes of the host cell.
