Plasmodium (Apicomplexa) of the skylark (Alauda arvensis) Author Chavatte, Jean-Marc Author Grès, Virginie Author Snounou, Georges Author Chabaud, Alain Author Landau, Irène Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Parasitologie comparée et modèles expérimentaux, USM 307, case postale 52, 57 rue Cuvier, F- 75231 Paris cedex 05 (France) landau @ mnhn. fr landau@mnhn.fr text Zoosystema 2009 2009-06-30 31 2 369 383 http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.5252/z2009n2a8 journal article 10.5252/z2009n2a8 1638-9387 5391006 Plasmodium relictum quentini Chavatte & Landau, n. subsp. ( Fig. 1E ) Plasmodium relictum – Chavatte & Landau 2007 (parasite of Pica pica ). TYPE MATERIAL . — Holotype : France . Landes , Saint- Julien-en-Born , 44°03’42’’N , 1°13’33’’W , blood smear of A. arvensis number 740U, 25.X.1996 ( MNHN 440 LV PXIII , 62) ( Fig. 3E ). Paratypes :same data as holotype, blood smears of A. arvensis number 740U, 25.X.1996 ( MNHN P2 -XXV, 24-43) ; 741U, 25.X.1996 ( MNHN P2 -XXV, 44-64) . ETYMOLOGY. — This subspecies is dedicated to Jean- Claude Quentin. DISTRIBUTION. — Seine-Saint-Denis, France ( Chavatte et al. 2007 ) and type locality, Saint-Julien-en-Born, Landes, France . HOSTS . — Alauda arvensis ( type host) ; Pica pica . DESCRIPTION The schizonts lie in an enlarged and often rounded and sometimes discoloured RBC, whose condensed and sub-globular nuclei is pushed to the periphery. The schizont’s 12 to 18 nuclei are dense, rounded and well delimited. Initially peripheral and slightly protruding towards the outside, the nuclei are then distributed to the interior of the schizont. The cytoplasm is clear with a few white sharp-edged vacuoles. The pigment is most often central with the fine grains gathered up. The gametocytes are rounded and induce the same alterations in the RBC as the schizonts. TAXONOMIC STATUS The specimens studied are identical to the species described from the magpie ( Chavatte et al. 2007 ) where it was identified to P. relictum . However, this parasite presented some minor differences with respect to the P. relictum re-described ( Landau et al. 2003 ), in Passer domesticus , namely, a more pronounced RBC deformation, and crown of nuclei that are more regular and protuberant than those in the sparrow. The authors opted then to designate these parasites as P. relictum , as these differences are rather minor. However, since both the parasites of the lark and the magpie display these very same differential characters, we consider that in these two hosts they represent a vicariant form of the P. relictum described in the sparrow. We designate it as P. relictum quentini n. subsp. (= P. relictum sensu Chavatte & Landau 2007 , parasite of Pica pica ).