(4 to 15 times). Carinamoeba The schizonts are small and give rise to 8 or fewer merozoites. The gametocytes like the schizonts are small. The type species is Plasmodium minasense. Lacertaemoba The schizonts are medium-sized and undergo 3 to 5 nuclear divisions. The gametocytes are medium-sized Paraplasmodium The schizonts are of medium size. Exoerythrocytic schizonts may be produced in both fixed and wandering host cells. The gametocytes are large. One species in this sub-genus is capable of merogony in a vector of the genus Lutzomyia. Sauramoeba Large schizonts giving rise to 12 or more merozoites. The gametocytes like the schizonts are large. The asexual stages tend to disappear from the lymphocytes once the gametocytes appear in the lymphocytes. The type species is Plasmodium agamae. Ophidiella The species in this subgenus infect only snakes. The type species is Plasmodium weyoni. Species with unknown hosts One species has been identified from Dominican amber - Plasmodium dominicum. The vertebrate host of this species is unknown but it seems likely that it may have been a bird. Nyssorhynchus The type species is Plasmodium dominicum. Phylogenetics Although the evolution of this genus has been studied by a number of authors, details are still being elucidated. A brief summary of the pattern that has emerged is as follows: The most basal split in the genus is between the reptile/bird species and the mammalian species. The bird/reptile clade appears to be related to the genera Haemoproteus, Leukocytozoon and Polychromophilus. The genus Hepatocystis appears to have evolved from with the mammalian species clade. Within the mammalian species the subgenus Laverinia appears to be basal with the subgenus Plasmodium and the rodent species being sister clades. Hepatocystis appears to have diverged after the separation of the rodent species. The species infecting lemurs may belong in the subgenus Plasmodium instead of their current placement within the subgenus Vinckeia. Within the subgenus Plasmodium, P. vivax groups with an Asian clade which appears to be rooted in Africa. P. malaria and P. ovale both belong to an African clade and are more closely related to each other than to P. vivax. Within the subgenus Laverinia P. falciparum and P. reichenowi form a clade while the other four known species form a second clade. There are a number of additional species in these taxa that await full description so changes to the branching order are likely. However the overall arrangement outlined above seems