H^MOPROTEUS. 211 



Genus H^MOPROTEUS Kruse, 1890. 

 (8301. Haltbridium Labbe, 1894.) 



Hsemoproteus, Kruse, 1890, p. 371. 



Laverania (part), Grassi & Feletti, 1890, p. 463. 



Hsemamoeba (part), Grassi & Feletti, 1891, p. 463. 



Halteridium, Labbe, 1894, pp. 129, 151 ; 1899, pp. 78-9; Minchin 

 1903, pp. 257-9, 267-9; Stephens & Christophers, 1904', 

 pp. 319-20. 



Laverania (part), Laveran, 1899, pp. 603-6. 



Hxmocystidium, Castellani & Willey, 1905. pp. 84—5. 



Hxmoproteus, Minchin, 1912, pp. 365-9 ; Prowazek, 1912, pp. 566— 

 88,; Castellani & Chalmers, 19J9, pp. 518-26; Wenyon, 1926 

 pp. 885-902; Knowles, 1928, pp. 372-8; Reichenow,' 1929' 

 pp. 972-9 ; Kudo, 1931, p. 288; Calkins, 1933, p. 566: Reiche- 

 now, 1935, p. 375. 



The parasites grow in the endothelial cells of the blood- 

 vessels of various organs into fairly large multi-nucleated 

 schizonts, which then break up into very numerous merozoites. 

 It is possible that some of them enter other endotheUal 

 cells and again become schizonts, or, entering the red blood- 

 corpuHcles, grow into gametocytes. They produce h»mozoin 

 pigment granules at the expense of the haemoglobin of the 

 host-cells. The fully-formed gametocyte encircles the nucleus 

 of the red blood-corpuscle Hke a halter (hence the name 

 Halteridium Labbe) and usually does not force it out of place. 

 Parasitic in birds and reptiles. Sporogony takes place in the 

 body of an Arthropod. 



Remarks. — Danilewsky (1889) was the first to record the 

 parasites referable to this genus. Labbe (1899) considered 

 that the halteridia of different birds belong to one species, 

 to which he restricted the name H. danilewskyi (Grassi & 

 Feletti). They are now known from hundreds of dififerent 

 species of birds, and many species are recognized. They have 

 often been confused in the past with another pigmented parasite 

 of the blood of birds which belongs to the same family as the 

 human malarial parasite. Researches of Danilewsky, Laveran, 

 Kruse, Grassi, Feletti, and others have shown the difference 

 between Haemoproteus {Halteridium) and Proteosoma, viz., that 

 schizogony takes place in the endothehal cells in the former 

 and only gametocytes are found in the red blood-corpuscles, 

 while in the latter schizogony takes place in the red blood- 

 corpuscles and thus both merozoites and gametocytes can be 

 found in them. 



It was in the Hsemoproteus in the blood of the crow that 

 MacCullum (1897) demonstrated for the first time that the 

 so-called " flagellating body " was the male gametocyte, 

 and the process of ex-flagellation produced the male gametes, 

 which eventually fertilized female gametes and led to the 

 formation of motile zygotes or ookinetes. 



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