WMV/SSAV is its own independently-replicating retrovirus. It is usually lumped into the same
species as the
gibbon ape leukemia virus (GALV). It was originally detected in woolly monkeys co-housed in the same cage as gibbons, so the detection may have been due to a gibbon-to-monkey transmission rather than indicating the true natural host of the virus. Cladistically, the WMV/SSAV branch of the GALV-WMV clade also includes many rodent virues, including the
Melomys burtoni retrovirus (MbRV), melomys woolly monkey retrovirus (MelWMV), and complete melomys woolly monkey retrovirus (cMWMV). cMWMV is a complete
endogenous retrovirus found in some populations of
Melomys leucogaster, still very capable of producing infectious virions, in contrast to earlier
Melomys-harbored relatives which were incomplete. ==See also==