What is "haemoproteus"

Haemoproteus is a genus of protozoa that are parasitic in birds, reptiles and amphibians. Its name is derived from Greek: Haima, "blood", and Proteus, a sea god who had the power of assuming different shapes. The name Haemoproteus was first used in the description of Haemoproteus columbae in the blood of the pigeon Columba livia by Kruse in 1890. This was also the first description of this genus. Two other genera – Halteridium and Simondia – are now considered to be synonyms of Haemoproteus.

The protozoa are intracellular parasites that infect the erythrocytes. They are transmitted by blood sucking insects including mosquitoes, biting midges ( Culicoides), louse flies ( Hippoboscidae) and tabanid flies ( Tabanidae). Infection with this genus is sometimes known as pseudomalaria because of the parasites' similarities with Plasmodium species.

Within the genus there are at least 173 species, 5 varieties and 1 subspecies. Of these over 140 occur in birds, 16 in reptiles and 3 in amphibia: 14 orders and 50 families of birds are represented. These include gamebirds ( Galliformes), waterfowl ( Anseriformes), raptors ( Accipitriformes, Falconiformes, Strigiformes), pigeons and doves ( Columbiformes), and perching birds or songbirds ( Passeriformes).