What is "paleoleishmania"

Paleoleishmania is an extinct genus of kinetoplastid (class Kinetoplastida), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa and at present it's placed in kinetoplastid family Trypanosomatidae. The genus contains two species, Paleoleishmania neotropicum and the type species Paleoleishmania proterus.

The genus is known from the Albian aged, Burmese amber deposits of northern Myanmar and the Burdigalian aged Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.

The genus name Paleoleishmania is derived from the Greek paleo meaning "old" and leishmania referencing the modern Leishmaniasis-causing genus Leishmania. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous (requiring more than one obligatory host in order to complete life cycle) or are transmitted through some variation of a vector.