Plasmodium cephalophi, sp. nov.

Abstract

It would appear from a perusal of the available literature that malaria of antelopes has not hitherto been described; it is therefore proposed to place on record the discovery of a plasmodium found in the blood of two of these animals in Nyasaland. This parasite was first seen in the blood of a young duiker (Cephalophus grimmi), and was subsequently discovered in another young animal of the same species. Both these small antelope were at the time in captivity, and it was therefore possible to examine slides from day to day, and by this means a large number of parasites at various stages of development were observed, and some of these are figured in Plates 4 and 5.