Nuclear and Mitochondrial Data on from Support Evidence of Host Specificity.

Whipworms are parasitic intestinal nematodes infecting mammals, and traditionally humans and other primates that have so far been considered infected by . Recent molecular studies report a more complex scenario suggesting the presence of a species complex with several taxa specifically infecting only one primate species as well as taxa able to infect a range of primate species. The systematics of the group is important for taxonomic inference, to estimate the relative zoonotic potential, and for conservation purposes. In fact, captive animals living in zoological gardens are usually infected by persistent monoxenous intestinal parasites. Here, two Japanese macaques living in the Bioparco Zoological Garden of Rome were found infected by sp. Nematodes were characterized at the molecular level using nuclear ( and 18S) and mitochondrial (16S and ) markers and then compared to collected previously in the same location, and to other infecting primates. Evidences from mitochondrial and nuclear markers allowed for the identification of sp. specific to . Results obtained here also described a uniform taxonomic unit of , separated but closely related to , thus, emphasizing its zoonotic potential for workers and visitors.