The genome of the Oxbow virus along the full length of the S, M, and partial L-segment nucleotide and amino acid sequences show a low sequence similarity to rodent-borne hantaviruses. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that Oxbow virus and Asama virus are related to soricine shrew-borne hantaviruses found in North America, Europe, and Asia. This suggests both these viruses evolved with cross-species transmission.[citation needed]
^Kang HJ, Bennett SN, Dizney L, Sumibcay L, Arai S, Ruedas LA, Song JW, Yanagihara R.Host switch during evolution of a genetically distinct hantavirus in the American shrew mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii).Virology. 2009 May 25;388(1):8–14.