Eimeriidae, Plasmodiidae, Sarcocystiidae, Theileriidae, a Perkinsus species and 2 dinoflagellates suggests that Plasmodium and Cryptosporidium are sister taxa and that Hepatozoon is basal to them. Morrison has shown using molecular data that the Haemosporidia are nested within the gregarines and that this clade is distinct from the piroplasms. This latter clade is a sister group of the coccidians. Examination of the actin genes suggests that Plasmodium is more closely related to the coccidians than to the Babesia/Theileria clade. It also suggests that Cryptosporium is basal in the Apicomplexa: this latter finding is consistent with other analyses. Phylogenetic trees A number of useful phylogenetic trees of this genus have been published: Tree of Life website American Museum of Natural History From these trees it is clear that: The trees are consistent with the origin of Plasmodium from Leukocytozoon The genus Hepatocystis is nested within (paraphytic with) the genus Plasmodium and appears to lie within the primate-rodent clade The rodent and primate groups are relatively closely related The primate (subgenus Plasmodium) and rodent species (subgenus Vinckeia) form distinct groups P. falciparum and P. reichenowi (subgenus Laverania) branched off early in the evolution of this genus The 'African' (P. malaria and P. ovale) and 'Asian' (P.cynomogli, P. semiovale and P. simium) species tend to cluster together into separate clades. P. gonderi - a species isolated in Africa - groups with the Asian clade. P. vivax clusters with the 'Asian' species. The rodent species (P. bergei, P. chabaudi and P. yoelli) form a separate clade. The species infecting humans do not form a single clade. The genus Haemoproteus appears to lie within the bird-lizard clade The lizard and bird species are intermingled Although Plasmodium gallinaceum (subgenus Haemamoeba) and Plasmodium elongatum (subgenus Huffia) appear be related here so few bird species (three) have been included, this tree may not accurately reflect their real relationship. The bird species (P. juxtanucleare, P. gallinaceum and P. relictum) form a clade that is related to the included Leukocytozoon and Haemoproteus species. While no snake parasites have been included these are likely to group with the lizard-bird division Hepatocystis seems to lie within Plasmodium and may be related to the primate clade The bird and lizard species are intermixed as previously found. An analysis of the rodent genera (Plasmodium berghei, Plasmodium chabaudi, Plasmodium vinckei and Plasmodium yoelii) suggests that these species may actually be species complexes. The separation of P.