Parasites found from the feces of Bornean orangutans in Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia, with a redescription of Pongobius hugoti and the description of a new species of Pongobius (Nematoda: Oxyuridae).

Abstract

In order to obtain basic data on parasitic infections of Bornean orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus morio (Owen, 1837), in Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia, fecal examinations were conducted. Based on a total of 73 fecal samples from 25 individuals, cysts of Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba spp., and Chilomastix mesnili, cysts and trophozoites of Balantidium coli, and eggs of Trichuris sp. or spp., unknown strongylid(s), Strongyloides fuelleborni, and an unknown oxyurid, plus a rhabditoid larva of Strongyloides sp., were found. Mature and immature worms of Pongobius hugoti Baruš et al., 2007 and Pongobius foitovae n. sp. (Oxyuridae: Enterobiinae) were recovered from fecal debris and described. Pongobius foitovae is readily distinguished from P. hugoti by having a much longer esophageal corpus, a longer and distally hooked spicule in males, and a more posteriorly positioned vulva in female. Presence of plural species of non- Enterobius pinworms is a remarkable feature of the orangutan-pinworm relationship, which may reflect speciation process of the orangutans, host switching, and coevolution by pinworms.