Hepatozoon
Sign in to saveHepatozoon is a genus of Apicomplexa alveolates which incorporates more than 300 species of obligate intraerythrocytic parasites. Species have been described from all groups of tetrapod vertebrates, as well as a wide range of haematophagous arthropods, which serve as both the vectors and definitive hosts of the parasite. By far the most biodiverse and prevalent of all haemogregarines, the genus is distinguished by its unique reciprocal trophic lifecycle which lacks the salivary transmission between hosts commonly associated with other apicomplexans. While particularly prevalent in amphibians a
Species
GENUS
- KingdomChromista
- PhylumMyzozoa
- ClassConoidasida
- OrderEucoccidiorida
- FamilyHaemogregarinidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 1,069
- Family
- Haemogregarinidae
- Collections
- USNM, MSB
- Recorded in
- United States, Pakistan
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
2 sectionsContents
- Lifecycle
- References
Hepatozoon is a genus of Apicomplexa alveolates which incorporates more than 300 species of obligate intraerythrocytic parasites. Species have been described from all groups of tetrapod vertebrates, as well as a wide range of haematophagous arthropods, which serve as both the vectors and definitive hosts of the parasite. By far the most biodiverse and prevalent of all haemogregarines, the genus is distinguished by its unique reciprocal trophic lifecycle which lacks the salivary transmission between hosts commonly associated with other apicomplexans. While particularly prevalent in amphibians and reptiles, the genus is more well known in veterinary circles for causing a tick-borne disease called hepatozoonosis in some mammals.
== Lifecycle ==
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hepatozoon” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.