Piroplasmida


Pi·ro·plas·mi·da

(pi'rō-plaz-mī'dă), An order of sporozoan protozoa (subclass Piroplasmia, class Sporozoea) consisting of the families Habesiidae, Theileriidae, and Dactylosomatidae; includes heteroxenous tick-borne blood parasites of vertebrates with reduced apical complex, lacking spores, and with asexual reproduction by binary fission or schizogony.