Editing Plasmodium (section)

=== Taxonomy ===
''Plasmodium'' belongs to the [[phylum]] [[Apicomplexa]], a taxonomic group of single-celled parasites with characteristic [[Apicomplexa#General features|secretory organelles]] at one end of the cell.<ref name=Morrison2009>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.pt.2009.05.010 |pmid=19635681 |title=Evolution of the Apicomplexa: Where are we now? |journal=Trends in Parasitology |volume=25 |issue=8 |pages=375–82 |year=2009 |last1=Morrison |first1=David A.}}</ref> Within Apicomplexa, ''Plasmodium'' is within the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Haemosporida]], a group that includes all apicomplexans that live within blood cells.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tolweb.org/Haemosporina/124976 |access-date=1 May 2018 |title=Haemospororida Danielewski 1885 |author=Votypka J |website=Tree of Life}}</ref> Based on the presence of the pigment [[hemozoin]] and the method of [[Merogony|asexual reproduction]], the order is further split into four families, of which ''Plasmodium'' is in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Plasmodiidae]].<ref name=Perkins2014/>

The genus ''Plasmodium'' consists of over 200 species, generally described on the basis of their appearance in blood smears of infected vertebrates.<ref name=Martinsen2013>{{cite book |title=Malaria Parasites: Comparative Genomics, Evolution and Molecular Biology |editor1=Carlton, J.M. |editor2=Perkins, S.L. |editor3=Deitsch, K.W.  |isbn=978-1908230072 |publisher=Caister Academic Press |date=2013 |chapter=The Diversity of ''Plasmodium'' and other Haemosporidians: The Intersection of Taxonomy, Phylogenetics, and Genomics |author1=Martinsen, E. S. |author2=Perkins, S. L. |pages=1–15}}</ref> These species have been categorized on the basis of their morphology and host range into 14 subgenera:<ref name=Perkins2014>{{cite journal|title=Malaria's Many Mates: Past, Present, and Future of the Systematics of the Order Haemosporida |author=Perkins, S. L. |date=2014 |journal=Journal of Parasitology |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=11–25 |doi=10.1645/13-362.1|pmid=24059436 |s2cid=21291855 }}</ref>

* Subgenus ''[[Asiamoeba]]'' <small>(Telford, 1988)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''[[Bennettinia]]'' <small>(Valkiunas, 1997)</small> – birds
* Subgenus ''[[Carinamoeba]]'' <small>(Garnham, 1966)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''[[Giovannolaia]]'' <small>(Corradetti, et al. 1963)</small> – birds
* Subgenus ''[[Haemamoeba]]'' <small>(Corradetti, et al. 1963)</small> – birds
* Subgenus ''[[Huffia]]'' <small>(Corradetti, et al. 1963)</small> – birds
* Subgenus ''[[Lacertamoeba]]'' <small>(Telford, 1988)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''[[Laverania]]'' <small>(Bray, 1958)</small> – great apes, humans 
* Subgenus ''[[Novyella]]'' <small>(Corradetti, et al. 1963)</small> – birds
* Subgenus ''[[Ophidiella]]'' <small>(Telford, 1988)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''[[Paraplasmodium]]'' <small>(Telford, 1988)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''Plasmodium'' <small>(Bray, 1955)</small> – monkeys and apes
* Subgenus ''[[Sauramoeba]]'' <small>(Garnham, 1966)</small> – reptiles
* Subgenus ''[[Vinckeia]]'' <small>(Garnham, 1964)</small> – mammals inc. primates

Species infecting [[monkey]]s and [[apes]] with the exceptions of ''P. falciparum'' and ''P. reichenowi'' (which together make up the subgenus ''Laverania'') are classified in the subgenus ''Plasmodium''. Parasites infecting other [[mammal]]s including some primates ([[lemur]]s and others) are classified in the subgenus ''Vinckeia''. The five subgenera ''Bennettinia'', ''Giovannolaia'', ''Haemamoeba'', ''Huffia'', and ''Novyella'' contain the known avian malarial species.<ref name=Valkiunas4>{{cite book |title=Avian Malaria Parasites and Other Haemosporidia |author=Valkiunas, Gediminas  |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9780415300971 |date=2004 |chapter=Brief Historical Summary |pages=9–15}}</ref> The remaining subgenera: ''Asiamoeba'', ''Carinamoeba'', ''Lacertamoeba'', ''Ophidiella'', ''Paraplasmodium'', and ''Sauramoeba'' contain the diverse groups of parasites found to infect reptiles.<ref name="Telford1988"/>