to be supported by a number of studies by different authors and is unlikely to change. Given the recently recognised paraphytic nature of several of the taxa above, the introduction of new genera and possibly families in the near future seems highly likely. Relations with other Haemosporidian genera While most phylogenetic trees have tended to agree that Plasmodium has descended from Leukocytozoon or Haemoproteus like species a Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction suggests that Plasmodium may be the ancestral genus that has given rise to Haemoproteus and other genera. Further study in this area is required. Another Bayesian analysis has suggested the following taxonomy: Mammalian Plasmodium and Hepatocystis are sister clades with Hepatocystis having evolved from within the genus Plasmodium; the bird and reptile species are intermixed and basal to the mammalian Plasmodium/Hepatocystis species; the reptilian/bird Plasmodium species are a sister clade to the genus Polychromophilus; Leukocytozoon and Haemoproteus and sister clades; the Leukocytozoon/Haemoproteus clade is a sister to the Parahaemoproteus clade; and the Parahaemoproteus/Haemoproteus/Leukocytozoon clade is a sister to the reptilian/bird Plasmodium/Polychromophilus clade. This grouping is supported by previous results. A study of DNA sequences suggests that the genus is paraphytic with Hepatocystis being related to the mammalian species and Polychromophilus being related to the reptile species. This study also supports the ancestor of Plasmodium being a Leucocytozoon like species and that Plasmodium is more closely related to the Haemoproteus - specifically the subgenus Parahaemoproteus - than to Leucocytozoon. A paper by Blanquart and Gascuel examined Plasmodium 84 mitochondrial sequences and included Hepatocystis, Haemoproteus and Leukocytozoon sequences. The results agree with the previous analyses showing that Hepatocystis, Haemoproteus and Plasmodium appear to be derived from a Leukocytozoon ancestor. Hepatocystis appears to be a sister group to the great ape-rodent clade with the lower primate clade being ancestral to all three. In terms of Plasmodium subgenera they suggest that the subgenus Plasmodium is ancestral to both Laverania and Vinckeia. A study of parasites infecting bats found that the bats were infected by species of the genera Hepatocystis, Plasmodium, Polychomophilus and Nycteria. A phylogenetic tree which included these genera along with Haemoproteus and Leukocytozoon species was examined. As before Leukocytozoon was basal in this tree. The next clade to diverge was that of the Haemoproteus species. The remaining genera lay within the currently established genus Plasmodium. The authors suggested that the origin of the Plasmodium/Hepatocystis clade was likely to have been in Africa.