(Apicomplexa, Lankesterellidae) Blood Parasites of Passeriform Birds: Prevalence, Molecular and Morphological Characterization, with Notes on Sporozoite Persistence In Vivo and Development In Vitro.

Recent studies confirmed that some -like blood parasites (Apicomplexa) of birds are closely related to the amphibian parasite . Little is known about the biology of these pathogens in birds, including their distribution, life cycles, specificity, vectors, and molecular characterization. Using blood samples of 641 birds from 16 species, we (i) determined the prevalence and molecular diversity of parasites in naturally infected birds; (ii) investigated the development of in laboratory-reared mosquitoes, forma and ; and (iii) tested experimentally the susceptibility of domestic canaries, , to this parasite.