Palaearctic origin of Leishmania.
The hypothesis of a Palaearctic origin of Leishmania in the early Cenozoic, dispersal to the Nearctic in the late Eocene and to the Neotropical in the Pliocene is presented. It is further hypothesized that murid rodents and their immediate ancestors have been important mammalian reservoirs since the origination of Leishmania. Biochemical, molecular, biogeographical, entomological, mammalalogical and ecological support for these hypotheses are reviewed.
Kerr
S F
SF
Biology Department, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas 78209, USA. skferr@universe.uiwtx.edu
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D007891:Leishmania; D010802:Phylogeny