Biology · Biological Classification · NEET
Sporozoans are one of the four groups of Protozoa in Kingdom Protista. NCERT defines them simply: they are diverse organisms that have an infectious, spore-like stage in their life cycle. That single feature is what puts an organism in this group. You do not need to memorise a long structure list for NEET. Just remember the key word: an infectious spore-like stage.
Plasmodium causes malaria. It is a sporozoan and is called the malarial parasite. NCERT calls it "the most notorious" sporozoan because malaria has a huge effect on the human population. So the chain to remember is: Sporozoan group -> Plasmodium -> malaria disease. This link is asked again and again in match-the-column NEET questions.
No. Pseudopodia (false feet) belong to AMOEBOID protozoans like Amoeba and Entamoeba, not to sporozoans. Sporozoans like Plasmodium do NOT have pseudopodia as feeding or locomotory structures. NEET 2016 and 2018 both tested this exact wrong statement. Match each protozoan group to its correct structure: Amoeboid = pseudopodia, Flagellated = flagella, Ciliated = cilia, Sporozoan = spore-like infectious stage.
No, and this confuses many students. In slime moulds, "plasmodium" (small p) is a stage of the body — a mass that moves over decaying leaves engulfing food. Plasmodium (capital P, in italics) is a genus name — the sporozoan parasite that causes malaria. Same-looking word, totally different meaning. Slime mould plasmodium is a body stage; Plasmodium the parasite is an organism.
Plasmodium spreads through the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito, which acts as the vector (carrier). The mosquito is not the cause of malaria; it only carries the parasite. NCERT notes malaria is a vector-borne disease, so control means controlling the mosquito and its breeding places. For NEET, remember: cause = Plasmodium (protozoan), vector = female Anopheles mosquito.
Biological Classification questions love matching diseases with their causative organism group. Malaria = Plasmodium = Protozoan appears in many match-the-column PYQs. Also, the "wrong statement" style question repeatedly checks whether you wrongly give sporozoans pseudopodia. Knowing these two facts alone answers several past NEET questions.
Select the wrong statement:
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
The infectious form that enters the human body is the sporozoite, injected by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. This fits the sporozoan idea of a spore-like infectious stage.
Sporozoans belong to Kingdom Protista, under the group Protozoa. Protozoans are single-celled eukaryotes, and sporozoans are one of their four groups.
Amoeboid protozoans, Flagellated protozoans, Ciliated protozoans, and Sporozoans. Each has a distinct locomotory feature except sporozoans, which are marked by an infectious spore-like stage.
Plasmodium is single-celled (unicellular). Like all protozoans, it is a single eukaryotic cell, even though it causes a serious multi-organ disease in humans.
Plasmodium causes malaria. Because it spreads through mosquitoes, prevention focuses on the vector: mosquito nets, removing stagnant water, and controlling Anopheles breeding sites.
