A pinworm's tale: The evolutionary history of Lemuricola (Protenterobius) nycticebi

Abstract

Lemuricola (Protenterobius) nycticebi is the only pinworm species known to infect strepsirrhine primates outside Africa, and the only pinworm species yet described in slow lorises. Here, we provided a detailed morphological comparison of female and male worms, and a first description of fourth-stage larvae collected from free-living slow lorises (Nycticebus menagensis) in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Using mitochondrial and nuclear markers, we also reconstructed the species' phylogenetic relationship with other pinworms infecting primates. Both morphological and molecular results indicated a distinct association between L. (P.) nycticebi and its host. However, while taxonomy identified this species as a member of the Lemuricola clade and grouped pinworms infecting lemurs and slow lorises together, phylogenetic reconstruction split them, placing L. (P.) nycticebi within the Enterobius clade. Our results suggest that L. (P.) nycticebi may represent a different taxon altogether, and that it is more closely related to pinworm species infecting Old World primates outside Madagascar. Pongobius pongoi (Foitová et al., 2008) n. comb. is also proposed.

First description of male worms of Enterobius (Colobenterobius) serratus (Nematoda: Oxyuridae), the pinworm parasite of proboscis monkeys

“…Pinworms were found in feces of three primate species (Table 2). The morphology of L. (P.) nycticebi has been reported elsewhere (Frias et al, 2019). The female worm of Pongobius sp.…”

Social relationships: key to gut microbiome composition in wild redfronted lemurs?

“…vauceli there is one entry for the 28S rRNA gene and none for the 18S rRNA gene, the marker gene used in this study Frias et al, 2019). A misclassification as E. vermicularis may suggest the risk of zoonosis or transmission from humans to animals as transmission of E. vermicularis is relatively simple through ingestion or inhalation of the eggs, which could occur by fecal contamination (Taghipour et al, 2020).…”