Species of Plasmodium of passerine birds with four nuclei, with description of new species

We describe and discuss species of Plasmodium with four nuclei arranged in doublets or forming a maltese cross and loose, residual cytoplasm, described from Passer hispaniolensis in Algeria. The following species are described: Plasmodium rouxi from Alauda arvensis, from France Plasmodium mohammedi sp. nov. from Passer domesticus biblicus and Plasmodium pachysomum sp. nov. from Anthus campestris, from Israel, Plasmodium pfefferi sp. nov. from Pica pica and Plasmodium sergentorum sp. nov. from Alauda arvensis and Pica pica from France and Plasmodium stellatum sp. nov. from Muscicapa striata from Israel. All species vary in the spatial position of their four nuclei and the presence or absence of refractile, blue-staining globules. All of the described species differ from P. vaughani Novy et Mac Neal, 1904 and its siblings (example: P. vaughani merulae Corradetti et Scanga, 1973) in their number of merozoites (always four versus four to eight in the latter) and their spatial arrangement in the schizont.