Any day now. That’s when Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), the “salamander-eating” fungus, is expected to arrive in the United States, home to more than a third of the world’s species of these slippery amphibians.It all began in 2008, when Bsal traveledsome through the pet trade from Asia to northern Europe. There, it escaped into the wild […]
Tag: fire salamander
Killer Fungus Threatens Salamanders
Legend says that salamanders can spit poison and extinguish flames, but even such pyrotechnic powers would not be enough to save them from a new scourge. A fungus that arrived recently in Europe from East Asia is lethal to many salamander species, a study released on Thursday shows, threatening populations in Europe, Africa, and beyond. […]
Newly discovered chytrid fungus devastates salamander populations
A frightening disease has been ravaging amphibians across the planet. At least 350 species have been infected, two hundred of which have suffered massive population reductions or extinctions, some even occurring within the space of weeks. In 1999, a single fungal species called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), commonly known as the chytrid fungus, was identified as […]