Within this genus the first to diverge were the avian and reptile species. The next clade to diverge was that of the Polychomophilus species. This was followed in branching order by the Nycteria species. The subgenus Laverinia was the next to diverge followed by the subgenus Vinckeia. The crown of the tree was formed by the subgenus Plasmodium and the genus Hepatocytis. This tree did not support the inclusion of P. ovale in the subgenus Vinckeia but agreed with previous analyses suggesting that P. malaria is more closely related to the Asian clade than P. ovale is. Several of the bat infecting Plasmodium species appear to be related to the rodent species. Bats appear to have evolved ~ in Africa which - assuming that the phylogenetic tree in Schaer et al is correct - places an upper limit on the date for the evolution of the mammalian species of Plasmodium. Another study of the genera Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, Parahaemoproteus, Polychromophilus and Plasmodium found that Leucocytozoon occupied a basal position and that Polychromophilus and Plasmodium were sister clades. A study of Polychromophilus species found that this genus lies within the avian/reptile clade of Plasmodium species. The species infecting the while tail deer - Plasmodium odocoilei - was first described in 1967. A study of mitochondrial, plastid and nuclear genes of this species suggests that this species is actually two species that dierged between and . The phylogenetic tree suggests that the genus Nycteria belongs in a clade that contains the lizard and bird species, that Polychromophilus form a clade with P. odocoilei and that Hepatocystis species in bats forms a clade with the primate and rodent species. It also suggests that the closest relation to Plasmodium - other than Nycteria, Polychromophilus and Hepatocystis - is the subgenus Parahaemaproteus and that this subgenus is more closed related to Plasmodium that to the genus Haemoproteus. This study suggests that the subgenus Vinkeia is now in need of revision. Another paper suggests the transfer of the ancestor of Plasmodium from lizards to bats without passage via birds. A study of Nycteria suggests that Leukocytozoon is basal, followed by Heamoproteus. The sister group to Plasmodium/Nycteria/Polychromophilus/Hepatocystis is Paraheamaproteus. Hepatocystis appears to be a derived clade arising from with the subgenus Plasmodium. Polychromophilius is more closely related to the bird/lizard group than to the mammal infecting species. Nycteria is the sister taxon to the genus Plasmodium. The genome