Telford S R
J Parasitol. 1979 Jun;65(3):409-13.
Plasmodium mackerrasae sp. n. parasitizes the Australian lizards Egernia cunninghami and E. striolata (Sauria: Scincidae). Described from an experimental host, E. whitei, it produces mature schizonts containing 6--12 nuclei arranged peripherally as a rosette, and round to oval gametocytes which are equal to or slightly smaller than host cell nuclei. Both schizonts and gametocytes parasitize all cells in the erythrocyte series. Presence of pigment in both asexual and sexual stages is correlated with maturity of the host cell. Asexual forms contain a single large vacuole, whereas mature gametocytes may show 1--4 vacuoles. Plasmodium mackerrasae resembles most closely P. sasai of Japan and P. tropiduri of tropical America. It differs from P. sasai by lacking fan-shaped schizonts and by having less heavily pigmented gametocytes, and from P. tropiduri by less variability in shape and greater vacuolation of the gametocytes. Host and geographic differences further support its distinction.
麦氏疟原虫新种寄生于澳大利亚蜥蜴坎宁安氏柔蜥（Egernia cunninghami）和细纹柔蜥（E. striolata）（蜥蜴目：石龙子科）。该物种从实验宿主怀特氏柔蜥（E. whitei）中被描述出来，它会产生成熟的裂殖体，其中含有6至12个呈玫瑰花结状排列在周边的细胞核，以及圆形至椭圆形的配子体，其大小与宿主细胞核相等或略小。裂殖体和配子体均寄生于红细胞系列的所有细胞中。无性和有性阶段色素的存在与宿主细胞的成熟度相关。无性形态含有单个大液泡，而成熟的配子体可能有1至4个液泡。麦氏疟原虫与日本的佐西疟原虫（P. sasai）和热带美洲的热带疟原虫（P. tropiduri）最为相似。它与佐西疟原虫的区别在于缺乏扇形裂殖体且配子体色素沉着较轻，与热带疟原虫的区别在于形状变异性较小且配子体空泡化程度更高。宿主和地理差异进一步支持了它的独特性。
