A New Saurian Malaria Parasite Plasmodium clelandi sp. n. from Ceylon*
This investigation was supported by a Research Grant from the Ministry of Scientific Research and Industries and the Ceylon Army.
I wish to thank Professor P. C. C. Garnham, Professor A. S. Dissanaike, and Dr. P. Nelson for help in the identification of this species. The aid of Drs. L. G. Goodwin, A. Voller, and I. F. Keymer in the preparation of the paper also is acknowledged. Professor H. Cruce, Major Abeysinghe, Major Wijekoon, Mr. J. M. R. Jayasuriya, Mr. B. P. V. C. Bandarawatha, Mr. Mahawatha, and Mr. Amerasinghe kindly provided field assistance.
Nuffield Institute of Comparative Medicine, The Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, N. W. 1, England.
SYNOPSIS
Plasmodium clelandi sp. n. is described from Varanus cepedianus of Mannar District, Ceylon. The earliest asexual stages were seen as a chromatin dot. Trophozoites have a vacuole with chromatin material spread around its periphery. The trophozoites divide and mature to form the schizont.
The maximum number of merozoites observed in a schizont was 8. Pigment was scanty and sometimes absent. The gametocytes had a characteristic elongate form and tend to encircle the host cell nucleus.
