| Hepatozoon | |
|---|---|
| |
| A gamont of Hepatozoon canis in a blood smear from a naturally infected dog | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Conoidasida |
| Order: | Eucoccidiorida |
| Suborder: | Adeleorina |
| Family: | Hepatozoidae Wenyon, 1926 |
| Genus: | Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 |
| Selected species | |
|
Hepatozoon americanum | |
Hepatozoon is a genus of Apicomplexa alveolates which incorporates over 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,[1] the genus is more well known in veterinary circles for causing a tick-borne disease called hepatozoonosis in some mammals.[2]
- ^ Vilcins I, Ujvari B, Old JM, Deane EM (2009). Molecular and morphological description of a Hepatozoon species infecting reptiles and their ticks in the Australian Northern Territory. Journal of Parasitology. 95(2), 434-442. DOI: 10.1645/GE-1725.1
- ^ Vilcins IE, Old JM, Deane EM (2009). Detection of a Hepatozoon and spotted-fever group Rickettsia species in the common marsupial tick (Ixodes tasmani) collected from wild Tasmanian devils, Tasmania. Veterinary Parasitology. 162(1-2), 23-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.02.015