What am I?

I am a parasite that causes malaria. I am transmitted through mosquitoes. I infect red blood cells.

Evolution

It is estimated that I have some hundreds of species existing in the world today. Early on in my history, it appears that I diverged into two groups - species that infect mammals and species that infest bird or reptile hosts. One of the species that infect humans, P. vivax, is suggested to have arisen by the transfer from monkeys to humans in Asia. It then spread to Africa and then to the Americas by human migration. P. falciparum is believed to have split form another species 6-8 million years ago when humans and chimpanzees also diverged.